What Have I Become?
by Sarcastic Radiation
Summary: Barry Allen, is going to need to get much faster in order to outrun his high school years. Taking place in season two of The Flash (with a few alterations), this crossover shows just how hard it is to keep his multiple aliases away from each other. (I do not own The Flash Or Glee. Please do not sue me.) (originally from Wattpad)
1. chapter 1

Jitters. The local coffee shop containing Central City's finest java. Sitting inside was Barry Allen and Eddie Thawne. Eddie was the partner to the head detective of the CCPD, whereas the younger employee of the police, was Barry; a forensic analyst. He had a past. One that I would hesitate getting into at this time. For now, we can say he is working to avenge his mother's death.

"So then he leaned over and wispered to her, 'he'll be carded at the bar'," Barry laughed a little too loud. Eddie laughed with him.

"Wow," he said trying to keep his coffee from going everywhere. "And here I was thinking he would be different after the island."

"You guys need to keep it down," a young waitress wispered to them.

"Iris," Barry said as she refilled his coffee. Iris leaned over and shared a kiss with Eddie. "Did you guys hear about Mercedes," she asked.

"The- the, uh, singer," Barry's eyes grew asking the question. Eddie and iris gave him a look of confusion. They looked back at each other and waived it off.

"Yeah, she's in town this week. For her tour of the states," iris looked back at him and smiled. "And I know someone who's cousin is a rodie for her, and she convinced her to come to Jitters!"

"I gotta get out of here then," Barry scrambled for his jacket. He noticed the vacant expressions on their faces and added, "you know, before all the crazy fans show up." But before Barry could leave, the famous singer burst through the doors; body gaurd, obnoxious fans, and all. He turned toward the back exit, but it too was littered with fans.

"I'm gonna try to wait on her," iris got on her feet with such a huge smile, it was almost scarry. Within the crowd was Cat Grant, and her assistant, Kara. She was trying her very best to stay hidden in the crowd. And yet, Barry noticed her. He popped up the flaps of his jacket and pulled her out of the crowd. When she realized it was him, she wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

"Kara," he said in the middle of their embrace. "Everything. going. black..." His body weight began leaning on her.

"Oh, Rao," she said releasing her grip and holding him on his feet. He fluttered his eyes, regaining his vision and balance.

"I'm good," he said to her, but mostly to himself. "It's fine. We have bigger problems then you squeezing me to death. And possibly breaking my ribs." He winced at the touch of his chest. Kara tucked her head in between her shoulders, "sorry."

"It's fine," he repeated. "As I was saying. Big problem. Wait a minute. How'd you get here?"

"Uugh," she moaned. "Miss Grant wanted to have a meeting with the biggest singer in the country. But she wasn't going to National City, so Miss Grant decided to meet her here. Along with every other media outlet within a thousand miles."

"That's unfortunate," Barry muttered.

"You got that right," Kara chuckled lightly. "So, I know why I should be concerned, but why you?"

"Well, Marley," Barry began, holding back a smirk. Kara was taken back by her friend's knowledge of her old name. "I am of course, Barry Allen; lovable like pudding. Why did I use that analogy? But in high school, I was known better as, Sebastian Smythe."

Kara took a step back. She couldn't believe that the beautiful man in front of him was a gay, temperamental, Warbler. "How- how do you know those names?"

"Honestly, Rose. I am almost proud that you're no longer an anorexic dog. Hounding that one cheerleader about how to live your life must've been tiring," Sebastian let out his signature smirk.

"Honestly, this is harder then the whole Sam and Evan thing. Who are you?"

"Meet me at S.T.A.R Labs in an hour," he casually strolled away, back to sitting with Eddie.

"Keira," Cat Grant's voice boomed through the coffee shop. Kara scuttled back to the crowd of people, shouting and shoving their way closer to the icon.

Barry sat back down with Eddie. "Who was that," the blonde man asked, raising his eyebrows up and down.

"Oh her," Barry tried to look uninterested. "She's just a girl from high school." Eddie caught a glimpse of the longing in his eyes.

"I thought you went to an all boys high school," iris interupted. Eddie spit his coffee back into his mug and Barry was taken out of his trance.

"ALL BOYS? Seriously?"

"Iris..." Barry was starring swords into her. He let out a long sigh while rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah."

"Woooow," Eddie had so many thoughts in his head, he didn't know where to start.

"You know what, I'll take this to go," Barry said handing his coffee to iris. She rolled her eyes and took the mug, slightly annoyed with him. She knew if she refused to do something for him, he'd go after the manager. It happened one summer in high school. He wasn't the same person when he went to that academy.

Barry avoided any further conversation with Eddie, and got his coffee back. He placed a tenner on the table, and winked at iris, "keep the change."

He darted his way to S.T.A.R Labs, hoping to get some training in before more questions came. Unfortunately for him, Supergirl was already there. He tumbled as he ran into the cortex, not expecting her. He landed on his back, causing Caitlin to jump. "Barry, are you okay," she ran up to him. Cisco held out his hand for Barry to use as leverage to stand back up. "More or less," he groaned as he grabbed Cisco's hand.

"Less," he mumbled, limping to a desk chair. "Kara, what are you doing here so early?"

"You tell me, Bazzy."

"Bazzy," Cisco questioned with disbelief. "Are you going nuts? You know it's Barry, right?"

"Cisco, Cait. Can you guys give us the cortex to ourselves," Barry was rubbing the back of his neck at this point. Caitlin pointed her index finger straight at Barry, "Don't call me that," she threatened. The two left the room, secretly going into the time vault to spy on their conversation.

Barry looked up at the angry Supergirl in front of him. What she was angry about was a little unclear to him. Was it the fact that he was practically her mortal enemy in high school? That he was lying about it and took this long to explain? Or simply because her boss drug her out of her, now unprotected city, to meet someone she has been hiding her identity from for years.

"Bar- Sebastian?" The young man looked up at her, now realizing he had been daydreaming for the last minute. "Oh sorry," he apologized for his actions.

"Are you going to explain all of this to me now, or what," she was obviously frustrated with his lack of attention. She wiped the hair, that was now covering her line of vision. Her blue eyes were looking right through his green ones. She could tell something was wrong with him, she just couldn't tell what. But right now she was more focused on learning more about his alternate identity.

"Okay," he began. "It all started back in high school, when my girlfriend broke up with me. I was getting depressed so I took time off school. At that point my grades were descending fast, so I was going to be held back anyways. I was losing hope. Enter Vanessa. She made my life good again, and I loved her. Back then I was going by a different name. Everyone believed my dad killed my mom, so Allen wasn't a very friendly last name.

Back then, my name was Chris Stewart. I had taken on a whole other identity, so no one would figure out my back story. Vanessa and Chris got along perfectly, but he didn't know just how messed up she was. She had convinced him to do some pretty awful things. It started out with pressing me to drink, then drugging me, finally it got to the point of her convincing me to attempt suicide.

After that mess, I ended up needing to go somewhere away from there. So I was shipped off to boarding school. When I wasn't at Dalton, I was living with my uncle and his daughter, Allen Smythe and Stacy Smythe. I needed another name change, because Chris was all over the papers. I decided to take my uncle's last name, so it would seem as though I was his son. I had Stacy choose my first name and she landed on Sebastian."

Kara was stunned at all of this information. She didn't know where to start. Oh wait. Yeah she did. "If came to be protected from bullies, then how come you tortured us?!"

"Sebastian is my Snixx. When things get bad, he shows up. I've been able to tame him over the years, but seeing Mercedes I could feel him boiling up inside of me," Barry tilted his head, and forced smile.

Caitlin and Cisco were frozen. They knew the beginning of his story, with the man in yellow, but his high school records were sealed. Not even Felicity could hack into them. If he knew they knew, he would kill them. Fortunately for them, they were good at keeping secrets, much unlike Barry or Oliver.

"Wait a minute," Kara looked at him. "Does this mean you're gay?" Cisco let out an audible chuckle. This just became about a million times harder for him to keep. Jokes flew through his head, making a smile tug at the corners of his lips.

"No. No. Heck no." Barry responded to this question very confidently. "All I ever did was flirt. Kurt and I never got along in the first place." Kara let out a sigh. Why was she so relieved?

"I- uh," she tripped over her words. "You- you wanna go train?"

"Oh," he blushed. Why was he blushing? "Yeah, sure thing. Hold on one second." He turned his head to the secret camera. "Come down here you two. I know you're in the time vault."

Supergirl turned her head to the doorway of the cortex, where the two scientists shuffled their way through. Cisco had a guilty smile on his face, hoping for mercy, whereas Caitlin was biting her lip. Barry looked angry, so much that it seemed he wasn't Barry anymore. Sebastian was starting to show.

"If you breath one word about any of this to anyone, I will can frame a crime on you. Or I can make Finn pictures of the both of you. And they will go online."

Cisco and Caitlin were equally terified and confused. Supergirl knew they had no idea what a Finn picture was, so she almost agreed with Sebastian. "I would listen to him if I were you. You do not want those pictures flying around."

"It's good to know at least one of you knows their place," he sped out of the room. The snarky remark felt so good slipping through his lips.

"Guys, meet Sebastian," Supergirl showcased the air in which he was standing in.


	2. 2

"One more thing," Cisco raised his index finger. "I get how he had to do the whole name change thing, but how did he know you?"

Supergirl crinkled her forehead. "We- we were in rival glee clubs." She looked at the ground, not wanting to see their reactions. Without lifting her head she began walking out of the cortex, saying, "I'd better go find Sebastian."

She took off from S.T.A.R Labs, on a search for orange lighting. As fate would have it, she saw some speeding towards the S.T.A.R Labs hangar. She followed it until she saw a fire break out. Flying over there she exhaled her icy breath, slowing the fire but not stopping it. The lightning raced in and out of the building, ashy people multiplying on the streets. On his final check for stray civilians, she put out the fire. Supergirl lowered herself to the ally way where The Flash had stopped.

"How's that for training," she laughed.

"I dunno, you were a little sloppy," he joked. "Hey," she smiled and playfully punched his arm arm. He winced and clutched it, not so playfully. "It's fine," he said with pain in his voice. "You're bleeding," panic was present in her voice. He touched his face where the blood was and shrugged. "Welcome to the life of a meta-human superhero."

She began to look fuzzy to him, something she was unaware of. Actually everything was fuzzy to him. As he was starting to look unstable to her, Kara held out her arms, which were unexpectedly held on to for dear life. He looked up at the blurry girl unable to hear what she was saying, but knowing she was trying to say something to him. His legs gave out from underneath him and he closed his eyes, falling limp in her arms.

Supergirl flew into S.T.A.R Labs with an unconscious Barry in her arms. "What happened," Caitlin scanned over Barry, while guiding Kara to the medical bay.

"I think he passed out," Supergirl bit her nails. Caitlin looked at the last telemetry readings on the suit and noticed the glucose levels. She rubbed the bridge of her nose, and shook her head. "That asinine hypoglycemic," Supergirl heard Caitlin mumble to herself.

"It's he going to be okay," she asked. Caitlin nodded her head while setting up the drip. "Good. Miss Grant gonna fire me if I don't get back to her." With that, Supergirl flew away.

She landed behind Jitters and span around. With a extraordinary speed of red and blue, she was back in her regular clothes and glasses. As she entered the building, her eyes darted left and right for the queen of all media. Her darting blue eyes grew when she saw her sitting down with Mercedes.

She adjusted her glasses and nervously stepped up to the pair. She knew she had no choice. She had been gone for twenty minutes, which meant for twenty minutes her boss would have noticed her absence.

"Ah, Keira," Miss Grant waved her over. "I would like for you to get refills of Miss Jones' and my drinks." A waive of relief hit her like a forty pound hammer. She smiled at her boss and grabbed both mugs, making sure not to make eye contact with the singer. She turned away, breathing out a hardly audible sigh.

Back at S.T.A.R Labs, Caitlin was addressing the minor cuts on the unawakened Barry's face. She was still angry at him for not getting all of his calories that morning. She knew he knew to eat a lot of food. She changed out drip bags for the twenty fourth time, no exaggerations.

Cisco wasn't very far away, but he too was angry with Barry. He got blood on Cisco's suit. He never really could call it their's in his head. He was the one that made it and takes care of it, all Barry does is wear it. He thought to himself about how fun it would be to make Barry clean the suit. But, then again, he'd probably do it wrong, so it would be best if Cisco cleaned his suit himself.

And they thought Barry was mad at them.

"Keira," Cat called for her disappearing assistant yet again.

"Yes Miss Grant," Kara quickly walked over to them, placing the coffee on the table. "Two Flashes and a complimentary cookie from Jitters." She forgot for a brief second and looked at Mercedes.

"Hmm," Mercedes thought to herself out loud. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

"Nope. No. I just have one of those faces," Kara tried to lower her eyes.

Mercedes squinted her eyes. "Marley Rose?"

Kara shook her head. "Never heard that name before."

Before anyone could say anything else, Barry came through the doors. Kara saw him and tried to come up with an excuse to go talk to him. But he came over and swept her away from them.

"Barry, what are you doing here. It's not safe."

"I couldn't leave you here alone."

Her cheeks went red. Why would she be so happy to hear this from him?

"Well, um, are you at least feeling better?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I b-," he remembered that he fainted into her arms. "Right. I just wasn't eating enough."

"Why not? I mean, you know how much you should be eating per day."

"I guess I was just nervous. Nervous about getting caught as Sebastian. Nervous that you would be caught as Marley."

"Well you had a right to be. She is suspecting. She knows who I am, Barry. If she knows who I am then she'll figure out who you are. You need to get out of here before she sees you. Run, Barry, run."

"I'm not leaving without you. In fact, I will even get introduced to her, so that you're not alone."

"It's too risky, Barry. I can't let you do that."

"You dont need to let me do anything."

He strode to the other two women, with Kara close at hand. She stopped a few feet behind him, noticing Sebastian mode was being turned on. To her dismay, Mercedes recognized him immediately.

"Sebastian Smythe!"

"The one and only," he smirked.

"What do you think you're doing here?!"

"Why, can't a man just go to his local coffee shop?"

"What's behind your back," she said noticing his hands were behind his back.

"Just my hands," he said lifting his hands. "If I had a slushy, don't you think I would have thrown it at you by now."

She held up her hands in surrender. "I can't do this. I knew going to the town filled with metas was crazy, but this is too much."

"Wait, just a few more questions," Cat pleaded following her out the door.

Kara rubbed her forehead. "You have just made a very powerful enemy, with my boss."

Barry opened his mouth to tetort, when his phone buzzed in his coat. He answered it and Barry mode was back on. "Hey Joe. I-. Triple C. On my way." He hung up the phone and looked at Kara apologetically.

"Go," she sighed. She couldn't bare to see those emerald eyes getting so big. She stood on her toes and wispered in his ear. "Try anything like that again, and you will be seriously hurt." She kissed him on the cheek. It was just a peck, but the moment her lips touched him he knew that it was so very right.

He walked out of the coffee house trying his best to dissemble his feelings for her. When he left she could feel a smile creeping up on her face. She couldn't think straight, even when her boss began yelling at her for scaring away her interviewee.

"What are you so giddy about," Cat said, clearly annoyed.

Barry arrived at Central City Cinema, with a viable lovestruck smile. He could feel something inside if him super similar to what it felt like being struck by lightning.

"Hey. Looks like someone's having a good day," Joe pointed at Barry.

"Yeah," he blushed.

"Well, that makes one of us." Joe walked his son to where the dead body was. "He's been identified as Abraham Ford. It was in the middle of the previews, so it seems like the killer waisted no time."

Barry looked at the body, the GSWs in the back of his head. Using a gun is one of the biggest mistakes a murderer can make. One of the officers handed him the two bullets that were shot into the man, in a plastic baggie marked "EVIDENCE". The scientist examined them and gave his all to guess where they came from.

"I may need to run a few more tests, but I think the murder weapon was a Smith Wesson .357. I can tell you for sure, this was not the work of John Wilkes Booth."

"How do you do it," Joe smiled.

"Well, every gun barrel is rifled during manufacture, or finished inside the barrel with rotating grooves to impart spin to a bullet in order to improve accuracy during flight. The resulting spiralling grooves and lands leave mirrored mar-," Barry snapped out of it. "You... didn't really want to know the science behind it, did you?" Joe shook his head.

Barry looked at him straight in the eye, "We're going to need a list of people who bought tickets."

"Hey," Joe exclaimed. "I'm the detective here!" Barry laughed off the comment and began taking photos.

Barry sped into the cortex with a bag of pot stickers. He glanced at Eddie to acknowledging his presence, and opened the paper bag. Kara smelled the Chinese food and sat down next to him. She looked at him, enlarging her blue eyes and pouting with her lip. He rolled his eyes and gave her four of the twenty.

"That's all," her eyebrows furrowed. "They're my favorite!"

"Well I just got back from a crime scene, so I didn't have time to eat lunch."

"Was it another meta-human attack," Eddie asked.

"No just a shooting. Probably a transgression of revenge."

"Fine," Kara reluctancy ate the lone four pot stickers. She kissed Barry on the cheek again and Eddie smiled.

"Okay," he gave in. "Just one more. If I pass out again Caitlin will lecture me. Again."

Cisco laughed. "Yeah, she is pretty hard on you when it comes to your safety. I could only stand to be in the room for the first ten minutes."

Barry rubbed the back of his neck, "Have any of you seen her, by the way? I feel kind of bad how angry she was at me."

"No," Cisco replied. "But I wouldn't sweat it. She probably just needed to cool off somewhere."

Barry nodded eating the fifth to last pot sticker. He looked at his watch, "shoot, Singh wanted me down at the station fifteen minutes ago!" He looked at Kara, defeated. She smiled and took the bag of pot stickers.

"Oh, Bazzy. When will you ever learn," she took him by the shoulder. Her head leaned up against his, connecting at the lips. Their eyes closed. What seemed like just a few seconds to a normal person, felt like an eternity to the both of them. As she pulled away she wispered, "Marley always wins." He gave her a goofy smile to look at before he ran off.

"Allen," David Singh called.

"Ye- yes sir," Barry came into his lab looking at his boss.

"Ah, good to see your reputation is still upheld," he said sarcastically. "Do you have any suspects for the Ford case?"

"Um, yes," Barry shuffled to his computer. He typed vigorously. "Yeah, he has a long criminal record, beginning way back at Juvinial Hall. He and Ford had a big fight a few years back that ended with the gut in the hospital. He was also there at the cinema. If there's anyone we should be looking for, it's this guy."

"Great," the captain read over the information. "Let's have the name"

Barry couldn't move.

"Noah Puckerman."


	3. 3

A few hours later, Barry found himself looking through a one way mirror at the former teenage trouble maker. He was a completely different from what he remembered. He had a shaved head and, as it turned out, owned a successful casino in Star City. He sat there concerned, a look that Barry was not all too familiar with on that guy's face.

"It wasn't me," he pleaded. "I would never kill anyone. I was just there at the movie because my girlfriend made me. Isn't there someone I can talk to about this?"

"Give it a rest," Joe told him. "We know about your run in with him. He hurt you so you think that he should pay for it? That's not the way life works."

"It wasn't me," he persisted.

Joe marched out of the room, allowing the door to close behind him. He kept his eyes on this Noah kid and spoke to Barry. "I can't break him. He's too insistent. Maybe one of you can get through to him," he looked at Barry.

"Oh, no no no no no no no," Barry shook his head and hands. "I have a history with him. Not to mention, I am not trained in interrogation."

"Step one: ask them questions until they slip. End of steps," Joe teased Barry.

"If that's all you managed to grasp from the corse, then I must be overestimating your abilities," the captain looked at Joe. "Just tell him the science behind how it must be him, and maybe he'll figure that there's no way out of it. Either way he probably doesn't remember you."

Barry hung his head as entering, "probably not," he uttered to himself. The door closed behind him and the both of them had their head down. "Are you someone who's going to get me out of here," he asked, lifting his head from his cuffed hands.

On the other side of the glass, Joe and Singh turned their backs, in a heated discussion about how Joe is still the best detective in Central City.

"No," Barry didn't look up. "I'm here to tell you why you're here, Puck."

Puck sighed. "I have not heard that name in a long time. Who are you?"

Barry slowly lifted his head, and turned to him. Puck's eyes filled with hate. He gathered the words he needed to say, "You did this. You framed me, Smythe."

"No, Puck, you did this to yourself. You fought the guy, you were there at the cinema. Not to mention, you recently purchased the same model gun that shot h-" Barry was cut off by Puck's hands tightly over his throat. He began slapping the metal table, trying to get the attention of the two bickering cops, before blacking out.

Joe rushed in separating the two and restraining the violent one. "Here," Captain Singh held his hands out to take Puck. "I got him, you help Allen." Joe nodded his head and gave the enraged man to his superior.

"Barry?," he gently slapped the young man's face. "Barry! Well, great. At least he has a pulse." Joe stood up to the aggressor and said in a stern voice, "You just messed with the wrong family."

"Please, Miss Grant," Kara begged.

"No. And that's final. If you want to stay in central city, then you're going to have to wait another month, when you have vacation days," Cat was packing up the little complimentary shampoo and conditioner bottles in the five star hotel, that she called a "hovel".

Kara gave it a long thought before opening her mouth. Could she pull this string? Or was it too risky? Either way she was going to try. "What if I could give you an interview with the one person that you've been trying for months to interview?"

Cat paused. She turned around to face her confident assistant. "Talk fast, before I lose my interest."

"I can pull a few strings. I mean, you know how I have a connection with Supergirl, and- and I'm pretty sure Supergirl is friends with The Flash," she looked at her boss with a confident smile and pleading eyes.

"Deal," Cat said, feeling like she was losing. "But make it before Thursday, I have a lunch with Opera then."

Kara walked out of the hotel with the bigest smile on her face since she last saw her cousin. Now all she needed to do was call Barry!

Barry woke up in his desk chair. He was in his lab with Joe, sitting on his desk. "What happened," he asked now feeling the pain in his neck. He rubbed it as Joe tried to explain.

"Puckerman started choking you. Care to explain to me why that is?"

Barry sighed, "High school." To his surprise those were the only words Joe needed to understand.

"Are we talking about one of your bullies?"

Barry shook his head. He had never told Joe about how he had become the bully. He let out a shaky breath. "No. I'm the one who bullied him."

Joe shifted his sitting position. "What do you mean? The school had an antibullying policy. And you're not capable of bullying."

"He was from a rival school, so whenever I saw their glee club I kind of spilled threats and snarky comments." This was not helping Barry's mood. "Joe, I once sent a guy to the hospital!"

They could see the fear on each other's faces. "What did you do?"

At that moment Iris walked in unnoticed.

"Back there, all the popular guys threw slushies in the faces of the uncool. And there just so happened to be a guy I despised. So I put rock salt in the slushy and it was intercepted by his boyfriend. It got in his eye and he had to get surgery."

"Oh, Barry." The two employees of the CCPD looked at the interrupting girl. "I can't believe you'd do something like that. It explains so much." Her voice grew angered.

"Back off," Joe stood up in defense. "We've all made questionable decisions in our lives before."

"Yeah," Sebastian scoffed. "Like that one year you decided to go blonde. Who was it that you were hanging out with again? The color gaurd? You could have at least tried to enshroud yourself."

"Well I've never," iris had her blood boiling. She was so flustered that she couldn't even finish her sentence.

"Have you always been so articulate, or has that hair dye finally seeped into your brain?"

"Enough," Joe silenced the argument. "iris, I want you to go see Eddie. And Barry, I'm gonna drive you to S.T.A.R Labs."

iris huffed before storming out.

"Amazing," Caitlin said. "It's presenting itself as Disositive Identity Disorder, but with much fewer of the problematic symptoms."

Kara, who was still with them in S.T.A.R Labs, tilted her head. "I don't get it. Not all of us speak fluent in science," she reminded her.

"Sorry," she said, still doing tests with Barr- Sebast- his vitals. She punched numbers into her tablet. "DID is rarely seen, but it can be caused by physical abuse, typically as children, hence why Barry would have it. The main symptoms include memory gaps and the illusion of possession. Neither of which Barry seems to have. I want to run tests on the both of you as soon as possible."

"The both of us," Kara took a step back.

"Yeah, Marley," Sebastian piped up. "You went by a different personality back then too."

"But abuse," Kara asked, racking her memory for some cause.

"Let's see here," Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Your planet literally exploded when you were thirteen, both of your parents are dead, you became anorexic, need I go on?"

"Point made," she held her hand up. "But I don't think I've been like Marley since high school."

"I beg to differ," Barry looked at her again. "Maybe because the two of you are so similar, there doesn't seem to be a very noticeable difference. I bet Marley mode gets set up when people, like Miss Grant, start to push you around. Because for the girl of steel, you seem to get pushed over for her pretty fast."

"Are you calling me a push over," she asked playfully.

"Maybe I am," he giggled. They knew that giggle belonged to Barry.

"Okay, okay," she tried to calm down the energy in the room. "I'll do your tests. But only if Barry, or The Flash, that is, gets interviewed by Miss Grant."

Barry looked at Caitlin and Cisco with his big ol' puppy dog eyes, the ones that nobody could say no to.

Caitlin sighed, really wanting to find out more about this disorder, and held out her hand. "You have yourself a deal."

Kara gently grabbed the hand with her own and shook it.

"And you guys said I'd never need to use these red sun lamps," Cisco laughed as he turned on his old creations.

Kara didn't look very happy, having her powers drained for medical purposes wasn't nearly as fun as she thought it would be. And yet she smiled. She was in the medical bed set up right next to Barry's, and she was holding his hand. Nothing she could think of would make her happier. Except maybe if she had her powers.

Barry had gotten so used to Caitlin's medical procedures, he had begun to feel very tired. Although maybe it was because of the maroon solar lamps. He struggled to keep his eyes open, but he was making an effort, to comfort Kara. She was getting her blood drawn, and that was something she wasn't used to doing. Even without her super strength, she kept a tight grip on his hand.

Caitlin decided to monitor them for the next twenty-four hours, to see if there would be any difference in their vitals when they switched between personalities. She decided to be very strict and not let them leave under any circumstance, regular job or superhero duties. The police should retain some responsibilities.

When told not to leave for their jobs, Cisco reminded Kara not to let Barry make the excuse.

That night Cisco drove Caitlin home, insisting that the two superheros could take care of themselves if anything were to go wrong.

Barry and Kara were too busy getting lost in each other's eyes that night to fall asleep, when Barry finally said something. "You know, after all of this is over, we should really go on a real date. You know, one where I'm not fainting and you aren't under red sun lamps."

Kara inhaled sharply. "I've got the perfect place!"

Barry rolled his eyes, knowing what she was going to say. "Fine. But for a place called "Breadsticks", their breadsticks really do suck."

Kara smiled. She loved this man.

"What are your results Dr. Snow," Kara sat upright in her bed, wispering for the sake of Barry, who was still asleep.

"Besides the slight flutter of the heart when you two change personalities, nothing much."

"Does that mean I can go now," Kara smiled.

"Well," she was proven hesitant. "I suppose we could turn off the sun lamps. But call me immediately if anything strange happens."

"Okay, okay let's go!"

Kara turned her head to the man in the bed next to her, who was still holding her hand. He was stirring. She heard him take a deep breath inward and felt him squeeze her hand. He slowly opened his eyes to see the wide awake girl. He smiled at her, and soon they both had big dumb grins on their faces.

Caitlin flipped the switch to the lights that dampened Kara's powers, and took all of the electronics off of the two. They hardly even noticed that she was doing a few more tests. When it was all over, the time was 5:30 in the evening.

Barry had gone back to the CCPD to finish some paperwork, when Joe came in. He knew about the DID and could recognize that this was the young man he raised.

"I got some bad news," what a way to make an entrance.

Barry spun his chair in the direction of Joe. He was still smiling about Kara. "Make this face fall," he said. "Just try."

"The judge let Puckerman walk."


	4. 4

As they moaned off the train, Felicity and Diggle were almost happy to be in Central City. Almost, because this was business. They decided not to go with Oliver on his motercycle, because he has a tendency to take the most dangerous route. Not to mention the rails were a whole lot faster. They needed to come on account of their mutual foe, Clock King.

Felicity decided to surprise them with a visit, as she noticed that's what the teams seem to do. They also came here to possibly see Supergirl. Word on the street was that National City's hero was in Central City, on Barry's behalf, no doubt. Felicity was super excited to hear about a female hero. Someone all of the women could look up to, instead of Oliver or Barry.

She entered S.T.A.R Labs like it was her home and set her stuff on a chair, followed closely by Diggle. "Hey, guys," she called, seeing the backs of Cisco and Caitlin. They jumped at this unexpected break of silence. They quickly regained composure.

"Felicity," Caitlin gave her a hug. "It's so good to see you. I don't mean to be rude or anything but-"

"What are you guys doing here," Cisco finished the thought.

Felicity made a face.

"Well, Clock King escaped from prison somehow and we thought he might come here. We thought about how long it's been since we've had a team up, so we figured we'd run over here. No pun intended" Dig explained.

"Puns are always intended," Cisco fought.

"Right," Felicity wavered over the comment. "Where is Barry?"

"Umm," Caitlin looked at Cisco. "He's kind of... on a date."

Kara and Barry raced their way to Lima, and made it to a small area nearby Breadstix. They needn't make a reservation, because it was only a little popular locally. The restaurant had a few tables open, most of them were filled by couples and some by families.

They went to the greeting stand and the lady smiled at them, "How many?" Barry held up two fingers and requested a table for two. As they were seated, they saw the complimentary breadsticks on the table and smiled to each other.

"So, Sebby," Marley leaned her arms against the table. "How about a challenge?"

Sebastian looked at her with a smirk. "I'm listening."

"Whoever can choke down the most breadsticks has to pay for dessert."

"Either way I'm gonna be the one paying. Do I have a choice?"

"No," she smiled. That smile rocked his world. It made him so happy to see her happy, and vice-versa. Together their smiles could rule the world. A positive energy was sent throughout the room. "Ready," she picked up the horrible appetizers. "Go."

Together they emptied the basket, until only one was left. "Uggh, you have it. I'm full," he lied. He filled his stomach with air and slouched to make it look bigger. "I have a better idea," a meniacal look on her face as she looked arround. She picked up the breadstick and threw it into the perm of a waiter. They both stifled their laughs. Sebarrstian looked into her eyes and, what was the quote? Time was dead and meaning had no meaning.

The waiter turned around with the food still in his hair. He lifted his hand to the top of his head and pulled it out. He looked shocked at the sight of this eatery in his hair. Sebastian and Marley, who were still seated at their table, watching the whole thing play out, we're now in tears from the laughter erupting from their table.

The waiter's attention was drawn to the only table with no breadsticks and an unnatural amount of laughter. He marched down there, making the faces of his harassers go numb. It wasn't until he neared the table that they recognized him. Blaine Ex-Warbler Anderson. They tried desperately to hide themselves, but with what little they had, Sebastian was the unlucky one.

Blaine squinted and clenched his eyes a few times, not quite sure if the long shifts were getting to him, or if his high school 'friend' was sitting in front of him. "Sebastian," he asked.

Barry met his eyes with an apologetic smile. "Yes," he spoke through his teeth. In all honesty, this was Barry, and Barry was scared. He hadn't seen Blaine in years. Marley, on the other hand was hiding in her hair. She was glad to have dyed her hair blonde.

Blaine glanced at the girl who's face was covered in her hair. "Wait," he lowered his voice. "Aren't you-" Before he could finish the question, Kara lifted her head and moved the hair from her face. She look mad.

"He. Is. Not." Blaine did a double take.

"Wait a minute, Marley? I'm confused," he rubbed his temples.

"We'll talk later," Barry brushed him away.

"No," Kara gave Barry a stern look. "We'll talk now." Barry let out a long sigh, nearly switching to Sebastian mode.

"But, ...Marley," Barry caught himself from calling her Kara. "What about dinner?"

"I'm full."

Barry got a bit worried about the tone she was taking. He gave a fake smile. "What time does your shift end?"

"I will end it now, if it means I get to hear about what the heck is going on."

Blaine turned on his heels and made his way to end his shift.

"So you guys have become friends when," Blaine asked. The three of them were sitting outside sitting in the park that was only walking distance away from the restaurant.

"Umm," they looked at each other. "Through work(?)." Kara concluded this almost like a question.

"Speaking of work, why do you work at that place," Barry tilted his head.

"Oh you know," he looked down. "Kurt and I could use the money." His eyes opened with an audible gasp. "Kurt! He picks me up from work! I need to go! And Seb, for both our sakes, how about we keep this between us?"

The green eyed young man nodded his head, "We should catch up sometime though."

"Yeah, for sure," he almost put his jacket on upside down. "Bye Marley! Bye Seb!"

The couple laughed at him nearly tripping several times. "I'm glad we gave him our numbers," Kara smiled. Barry looked down at his phone. The caller ID read S.T.A.R Labs.

"Hey, is there a problem? Felicity? Well-. I-. Yeah I'll be there. No. No, Felicity, I didn't think you meant that. Okay bye," Kara heard all of this. She decided to respect his privacy, and not use her super hearing. "You up for a fight with the clock king?"

She smiled. "You know I am, but what about our date?"

He shrugged, "To be continued?"

"Khao-shuh."

Together they flew, and ran, back to Central City. What they didn't notice was Blaine, watching them from behind a tree. He pressed the 'stop recording' button on his phone and called someone. "You were right. It's them. What do need me to do now?"

Kara flew higher in the sky than usual. She needed to clear her mind. With everything that was going on in her life, she felt like she needed a moment to breath. She was loving all of the time she got to spend with Barry, but sometimes the stress of being a superhero can catch up with you.

She glanced at the ground, seeing the orangey toned lightning just ahead of her. He went into S.T.A.R Labs and she decided to pick them up some food. They had missed dinner, and she was beginning to feel it in her stomach. And if she was hungry, Barry was undoubtedly hungry too.

She walked into the breach room and immediately saw Barry. He gave her a hug and surprisingly didn't notice the Big Belly Burger take out in her hand. "Where where you, you're like ten minutes late," he asked.

She lifted the bags and smiled. "Just grabbing our dinner. We kinda missed it and those breadsticks were not cutting it."

A huge grin broke out on his face. "You've brought me the one thing that comes close to comparing with you; food."

"I'll toast to that," Kara lifted her burger. She ate a bite and her face melted. This was for sure the best burger in the multiverse. Her head tilted back, and faces were staring at her. She bent back up and lowered her voice, "Barry, who are they?"

"Oh, that's right," Barry wiped his mouth. "Kara, this is John Diggle and Felicity Smoak. Guys, this is-"

"Supergirl," Felicity walked over and shook Kara's hand. "I am so glad to meet you. I'm a huge fan, not in a weird way or anything, I just, I'm happy to see a woman out there. That's all."

Kara pulled her hand away, hoping her grip wasn't too tight. "I like you Felicity. In a totally platonic way. Oh Rao. Now you're making me do it." Barry laughed at those words.

"I have that kind of effect on people," Felicity backed away.

"You must be Mr. Diggle," Kara held her hand out.

"Yes," he accepted the handshake. "I'm happy to see a hero who wasn't labeled a vigilante."

"Oh," Kara knitted her eyebrows.

"Wait, are you Barry's mystery date," Felicity widened her eyes. Kara nodded her head in a bashful manner. Her cheeks got rosy. Barry could see this was Marley, and he stepped in.

"We're here for something else though. Any word on Clock King?" Felicity turned on her tablet and showed an algorithm to him. "This just shows us where his old 'lairs' were."

"I know but if we use this algorithm we can-"

"Pinpoint where his next one will be," Cisco nodded his head with a smile. "Oh, we can also use this to track down where his-"

"Next heist will be," Barry took a turn in the freaky smart lane. "And who he'll be working with. I'll help with the finishing touches."

"No, no. You finish eating with your girlfr-" Before Caitlin could finish the thought, he had already finished it and sat back down with his feasting girl.

"Hey," Kara crinkled her forehead. "You got my hair in my burger. Now there's mustard in my hair and my face." She pouted her lip.

"I can fix that," he leaned in and thumbed out the mustard, in a gentle way. A way that made her smile. They didn't even notice everyone smiling, and walking out quietly. Of course that didn't last. For Barry turned his head and noticed someone who didn't look too happy. "I'll be right back," he kissed Kara on the cheek.

"Hey," he caught up with Felicity. "So what do you think of Kara?"

"Isn't she a little strong for you," she let slip from her mouth.

"Felicity Smoak," he gasped. "Are you jealous?"

"Jealous? no. Jealousy is not a good shade on me. More like enthused resentment."

He raised his eyebrow. "I think you just cancelled out your own words."

They had made it all the way to the cortex , when the alarm sounded. "Gunman on West and Third," Cisco announced.

"On it," Barry raced to their suit and out of the lab. He was glad that Kara had not come him. He would have been too worried about her to focus on the task at hand. He silently bet to himself that she was was just that.

He made it to the gunman to see that there was more than one. 'At least it not a meta,' he thought to himself. He decided not to waste any time with them. He ran before the three gunman, snatching their guns. They looked down at their hands to see the guns were gone. Panicked expressions filled their faces.

"Now what were you planning to do without these," The Flash asked, waving the guns in his hand.

One of them glared at him. He raced over and threw a punch. The Flash easily moved his head out of the way, watching the man stumble to catch himself from falling face first on the cement, in slow motion. The man grew furious, so much that his entire person began glowing to a pinkish red tone, and The Flash could feel the heat emitting from his skin.

The Flash ignored the fact that a crazy man was heating up like an oven, and just smiled. "Ah, you must be my nine o'clock meta-human," he chuckled casually. The man dashed towards him in an effort to burn him to a crisp. But instead he just kept turning and going at him, because The Flash kept running to a different spot near him. This made him angry.

He ran at him one final time, grabbing The Flash's arm for only a second, before he was cooled off. There was a sudden downwind of cold air coming from the sky, almost freezing the man. Supergirl landed on the ground, picked up the man, and put the power dampening cuffs on him. She set the chilly man the back seat of a police car and was thanked by an officer. She smiled at him and turned to the man in red on the ground. She rolled her eyes and picked him up, flying back to S.T.A.R Labs.

She lay him on the medical bed and turned to Caitlin. She was stopped in her tracks by an arm grabbing her own. She turned back to the man laying on the bed and saw him smiling. "Were you awake this entire time," she gawked. He nodded his head fighting back laughter. "You totally just toddlered me!" She laughed and bent down bracing to her knees, unable to breath from laughing so hard.

Caitlin properly treated him for second degree burns. She also gave him the 'good' news of not having DID. Kara teased him and said, "We could always call it Sebastian Snixx." He smiled at her not-so-clever wordplay. He sat there in the medical bay for about an hour. Kara never leaving his side.


	5. 5

Oliver Queen, CEO of Queen Consolidated, jumped off of his motercycle. He was parked in front of the very same lab that created metas. He was never too fond of S.T.A.R Labs, but this was where his superhero friend was found for a good portion of his day. He walked in through the revolving doors, and to his expectancy no alarms sounded. They were not any more secure with their base than Oliver's was.

He climbed several flights of stairs and found his way into the cortex. He could hear indistinct conversation. "Don't worry, Felicity. He wasn't burned that bad," that was Caitlin's voice. "I don't get all of this science stuff, but this looks pretty advanced," Diggle. "Don't fret, my Sebby. No one else from our past should be surprising us anytime soon," said a voice he didn't recognize.

"Who's Sebby," Oliver asked, starting a number of people in the room. He scanned the room for the unknown voice, and he found it. He saw a young woman, blonde hair, glasses, collared shirt, and skirt. This was not Felicity.

The young woman stepped closer, perhaps they had told her his secret identity, perhaps she had guessed. "Sebby is a nickname for Sebastian, which is Barry's undercover name," she lied. He could tell this was a lie, but he wanted a name to match a face first. She quickly, but gently, shook her head, in remembrance. "Kara Danvers. Or as you may know me better, Supergirl."

Everone looked at him as if he were to jump back, but he seemed unphased. "How are you so calm about this," Felicity asked. He took his hand out of Kara's and turned to Felicity. "Once you find out the forensic scientist who injected you with rat poison became The Flash, there isn't too much more crazy to take."

"Sorry," a voice said. Barry appeared from nearby Cisco's suit. His arm was a little pink and he was apologizing with a smile. It seemed like he had to say sorry for being impossible more than once. And he had. Barry pulled Oliver into a hug, before getting a look that said, 'you should know better than to hug me by now.'

Barry turned around in embarrassment. He glanced up at Kara, a sheepish smile spread across his face as he looked down again. Oliver wrapped his arm around Felicity's shoulders and turned the two of them away from everybody else. "Is he high," he put it brief and to the point.

She looked at him and gave him a smile. "High on romance," the two looked back at the conversing group. Kara and Barry looked like two teenagers, the kind that was too afraid to ask one another to dance. He chuckled for a moment, "Wow, they've got it bad. Are they-"

"Dating? Yes," Felicity answered before letting him finish.

"And are you-"

"Jealous? No. I don't get jealous. Especially not with that wimp," her voice made a jump on the last word.

"I should hope not," he gave her a kiss on the forehead. "You're all mine."

She smiled and they turned back to the group. Barry's arm was back to his normal shade of a pasty tan. To the right of the lovebirds, Caitlin and Cisco were practically jumping up and down. "It worked!" Cisco's shouting startled nearly every person in that room. Everyone except Barry and Kara, their quick reflexes keep them on edge nearly all the time.

Cisco smiled, "I found out who Clock King is working with!" They all leaned forward in anticipation. "Well," Diggle asked; He too was curious. "Right," Cisco blinked. "Um, it looks like he's working with Blaine Anderson kid. No prior arrests, no pressed charges. It's like he was a really good kid. Nothing indicating his causing trouble at all. I wonder what would make him start."

Kara and Barry exchanged looks. Ones that did not go unnoticed. "What," Caitlin asked. "Do you know something that we dont?"

"Well..." Kara trailed off. "He's just someone from our past," Barry gave her a small glare. She gave him a guilty smile.

"You really shouldn't be talking to the press," Oliver pointed out. He and Barry were at their meet up place. They had decided to have a 'training session', although Barry didn't see a point to this, in the sense that he knew everything. The younger of the two was hesitant at first, knowing how much it hurt to be shot with one of the arrows. He didn't really want to have to experience that again.

"I know, but it was the only way Kara could stay in town," Barry reasoned. He did make a good point. "And either way, no one would figure out who I am because," he began to vibrate his vocal cords, "I can disguise my voice."

Oliver rolled his eyes at the young man's ability. "You and that 'Kara' girl, how long has that been going on?" He had mentally made an educated guess that they had only just begun dating, seeing as they were still in that 'everything about them is perfect' stage.

"Oh, her," he blushed. "We just started dating, but we've known each other since high school."

"Hmm," he pondered on those words for a moment. He had never heard anything about Barry's high school years. In fact, from sophomore to senior year, his high school records were sealed. "Tell me more. What high school did you two go to?"

Barry looked very nervous. "Is this training, or a meeting with my childhood shrink?"

Oliver did not see this coming from Barry, of all people. He never made a remark like that. He just waved it off. "Just run over there and I'll try and get the jump on you."

"You'd better not be planning on shooting me again. I have a girlfriend who'd be happy to melt your face off with her heat vision."

"Great. You can bring her next time. She's been out there for nearly as long as you were when I started with you."

"If there is a next time," Barry mumbled under his breath. He ran in the direction that Oliver pointed and started coming at him, dogging arrows along the way.

Clock King sat up in his abandoned warehouse, as most dangerous criminals do, and typed speedily on the keyboard in front of him. Footsteps came behind him, ones that did not concern him. He looked at the reflection in his clock, of the man in the gray hoodie. He opened his pocket watch and clicked it closed in an angry fashion. "You're late," he huffed. He swiveled his chair around. "By two minutes."

The man in the hoodie looked to the ground in shame. "I- I'm sorry," his voice lowered to almost a groveling whisper.

"And you should be," the man snapped. "If this sort of thing were to happen on a mission or- or a heist, the outcome would not be pleasing. Now I have information that The Flash will be in an interview tonight, at exactly eight PM. My sources have not told me where yet, but the interview is confirmed."

"What do we need to know the interview for," the hooded man asked.

The older man let out a deep chuckle. "For one reason, and one reason only. To kill The Flash."

Cat Grant sat on the rooftop of CC Jitters, in hopes that The Flash would arrive for an interview. She had been sitting there for nearly half an hour, and was beginning to lose faith in her assistant. Perhaps her highly optimistic millennial, I finally decided not to do the right thing, take some chances like she had suggested. She had been told by Kara, that The Flash would be at the top of Jitters at eight, and yet he still hadn't showed himself.

She looked down at her watch, '8:30'. "That's it," she shook her head. "I spend way too much time waiting for superheros." She stood up reaching for her purse. Her eyes instinctively closed, feeling a burst of air on her face.

"Sorry I'm late," the Scarlet Speedster said, disguising his voice. "There were a lot of crimes along the way here."

"Your tardiness is very professional," sarcasam was strong in her voice. "Do you mind if I record this. I mean, you do owe me a favor after being half an hour late." She pressed the record button before he answered. "You are now on the record."

He was beginning to feel a bit intimidated, which was not something The Flash should be used to. "Ah, well, um, alrighty then," his super speed was not helping him.

"So what exactly are you? An alien? Another offspring of the vertical accelerator?"

"Well, I, uh..." these questions were coming fast, even for him. "Wait, you mean the partical accelerator?"

"So you are one of those meta-humans. You know about the science thing."

"Everone who lives in Central City knows about the partical accelerator."

"You have been a resident of Central City for a while now. How long exactly is that?"

"What makes you deduce that?"

"May I repeat for you, 'everyone who lives in Central City knows about it'? Are you familiar with the secret identity of the Green Arrow?"

"Funny. You think you can trick me with your reporter skills? I've been through worse."

"It was worth a shot. What about Supergirl?"

"What about Supergirl?"

Supergirl landed on top of the coffee shop, halting the conversation about herself. Her and Barry's lips were entwined in a kiss before either of them realized what was happening. They quickly pulled away from each other and turned to Cat, fully expecting to see her jaw dropped. Instead, what they saw was the woman with a smug look.

"What," Supergirl's voice filled with confusion.

"Oh, please," she paused the recording. "It was only a matter of time before the two of you to got together. Just so we're clear, I am going to publish this information."

"That's fair," Barry admitted.

Kara smiled and held her arms out in a forklift fashion. "Oh, no," Barry held his index finger in the air. "Oh yes," her smile grew. She swung an arm behind his knees, the other one she placed behind his back. She scooped him up and made a face of rumination. "You're light," she concluded. "Like, even without my super strength, you'd still be light."

They smiled at each other and he allowed her to fly him back to wherever it was they were going. Leaving Cat there, basking in her own glory. This was sacrosanct information. This would kill the Daily Planet.

Kara set Barry down inside the cortex. The lab was empty, everyone had gone home. It was quiet. The only noise was the sound of their own breathing, echoing through the building. The young couple eyed each other; they were going to do it. Before anything happened, they gave each other a peck on the cheek.

Barry took of his mask and made the first move. He cleared hid throat and ran his fingers through his hair.

Oh, I just wanna take you anywhere that you would like

We could go out any day, any night

Baby, I'll take you there, take you there

Baby, I'll take you there

Kara smiled at the cheesy song choice, but continued it anyway:

Oh, tell me tell me tell me how to turn your love on

You can get get anything that you want

Baby, just shout it out, shout it out

Baby, just shout it out

Together they sang the next part:

And if you

You want me to

Let's make a move yeah

Sebastian sang the next line to Marley, as she goofed off with beat boxing:

So tell me girl if every time we touch

You get this kind of rush

Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah yeah

If you don't wanna take it slow

And you just wanna take me home

Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah

And let me kiss you

Oh baby baby don't you know you got what I need

Lookin' so good from your head to your feet

Common come over here, over here

Common come over here yeah

Marley was enjoying the beat boxing, as bad as she was at it, and passed it over to Sebastian.

Oh, I just wanna show you off to all of my friends

Making them drool down their chinny-chin-chins

Baby, be mine tonight, mine tonight

Baby, be mine tonight yeah

And if you

You want me to

Let's make a move yeah

Sebastian joined her for the last few parts:

So tell me girl if every time we touch

You get this kind of rush

Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah yeah

If you don't wanna take it slow

And you just wanna take me home

Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah,

Every time we touch

You get this kind of rush

Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah yeah

If you don't wanna take it slow

And you just wanna take me home

Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah

And let me kiss you

They bowed to each other at the end, way too much happiness on their face. It had been too long since they had sang. And it had been never that they had sang together. They sounded golden to the ears, and they knew it. They wrapped their arms around each other in a hug. She lifted him up - her being the stronger of the two - and spun him in the air, lifting her legs off the ground in flight. He didn't fight it.

Their expressions changed to pure terror when they noticed a figure standing in the entrance. A slow clap came from him as he stepped into the light.

Song- Let Me Kiss You- One Direction


	6. Revelation

The man clapped his hands, slowly coming into the light yo reveal his face. It was Oliver Queen. He had a smile on his face, not quite as genuine as it was taunting. He couldn't wipe it off, no matter how hard he tried. It was most likely there because the face his friend made, looked like he was just caught taking drugs. If you, dear reader, knew Sebastian or Marley at all, you would know that this description is not too far off from what they were doing.

"H-how have you been standing there," Marley croaked. She was gradually setting Sebastian and herself to the ground.

"Long enough to see you two singing," Oliver responded. A small chuckle followed.

"I didn't know you could sing," Felicity emerged from the shadowy entryway. They really needed to put some automatic lights in. Curiosity filled her voice and eyes, proving to them she hadn't seen their private show. "Where did you learn to sing like that?"

"What were we thinking," Sebastian whispered, just loud enough for Marley to hear. It had seemed like forever since Felicity waltzed in, demanding to know everything. Marley and he were standing on the opposite side of the control panel as Oliver and Felicity. You could cut the tension in the room with a knife.

"High school glee club," Marley crumpled under the pressure. It wasn't like she could lie. That earned her a glare and a, 'Marley!' from Sebastian. She had forgotten how easily he could lie. Not Barry, but Sebastian.

"Glee club," Felicity smiled in asking this question. "And I thought I was a nerd in high school!"

"Wait, I thought you said her name was Kara," Oliver suspected something was off the moment he saw them singing.

"Should we run," Marley asked, leaning closer to her boyfriend.

"No," Sebastian stated. He eyed the quiver of arrows on Oliver's back, feeling almost a burning sensation where the last ones hit him. He didn't need to worry about her getting hurt because she was bullet proof. He, on the other hand, wasn't even punch proof.

"Her name is Kara," Sebastian said with a tinge of nervousness in his voice.

"Marley is my nickname," Marley tried. She wrapped her arms around him in defense.

"I don't buy it. So how about you tell me the truth before I pry it out of you," Oliver took one step forward.

"Alright, okay, we'll tell you," Marley said, forgetting about her bullet proofness.

"Stand down," Felicity whispered to Oliver.

As they told their lifes' stories, the other couple became very understanding. It was almost like the two of them had done things in their past that pushed them to be the people they are today. You've heard Barry's story, but I'd like to tell you some about Kara's.

In high school she was going through a 'phase' as her earth parents called it. So, she needed to have some space to figure out who Kara Danvers was. In that time she had a different 'parent', whom she called mom. She thought Kara should be Marley, but this was probably just the teenage years talking.

She abandoned her led lined glasses, gave herself a new name and personality. In the end she went back to her earth family, trying her best not to leave any way of contact back to her. The last thing she needed was someone from high school to call her up for a rendezvous. But that seems to be the fad these days; showing up unannounced to disturb her and Barry's personal life.

"Wow," Oliver said after they told him about their past life. He took a moment to take in all of this new information. "Glee club."

"That's all that you take from what we just said," Kara asked, getting just a little angry. "We told you that I didn't wear my glasses, Barry tortured my glee club, and we both changed names. And yet you question the fact that we were singers?"

"Yeah," Oliver nodded. "I used to be a billionaire playboy with long hair. Felicity was a goth who ran a secret online activist club."

"Wait you were a goth," Sebastian smirked. Felicity's blood ran cold. No one was supposed to find out about that. She gave Oliver a single smack in the arm, not making eye contact with him.

"the point is, we've all made mistakes in the past and we will forgive and forget," Oliver said in an unusually sincere way. "But we will never let go of the fact that you were in glee clubs!"

"Okay, okay," Sebastian broke the conversation. "It's getting late, Marles and I have work tomorrow, how about we all go home and get some well deserved rest?"

Oliver and Felicity left the room, leaving the two (other) love birds to themselves. "Marles, you should get some sleep."

"Actually, Miss Grant kicked me out of our hotel room. Probably so I don't distract her from writing her new big piece."

Sebastian held his hand out. "Well then, you can join me."

Morning time had finally arrived, meaning it was time to make coffee. Barry stepped down the stairs, trying his best not to wake everyone else. He made his way to the kitchen, only to find that there was no coffee left. 'Sorry Eddie and me's coffee maker broke', read a sticky note. It was written iris iris' hand writing. He shoved his face in his hand and groaned.

He tiptoed upstairs, noticing the fact that Joe was at work and Kara was still asleep. He held onto a sticky note and wrote 'getting coffee, be back in a flash.' He placed this on Kara's forehead, knowing when she got to sleep, nobody could wake her up. He put on his red v-neck, sports jacket, and skinny jeans.

Barry sped into the ally way behind Jitters. He walked like a normal person to the entrance, finding his way in line. He gave iris a wave from behind the counter, today she was working. She smiled back at him and continued her work. Rude. Not even a 'hi.' If Sebastian were around, she would be getting a verbal beat down.

As the line inched forward, he noticed two men trying to get his attention. His face softened, seeing one of them was Blaine. He waved them over, in an attempt not to lose his spot in line.

Blaine came over, and next to him was Kurt. "Well, if it isn't president gay face himself!" Sebastian couldn't resist saying a snarky comment. "What are you doing in Central City?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Kurt defensively wrapped his arm around Blaine's.

"As it just so happens, I live here. Your turn," he said in a very amused way. He was already at the front of the line and Blaine pointed to the bartista. "Oh, two Hot Flashes please," Barry mode was coming back at the sound of the please.

"Please? I didn't think you had it in you," Kurt's attempts to get him riled up were not working. "Who's the other one for?"

"My girlfriend," Barry smiled. "Why are you in Central City?"

"It's our anniversary. Who's your girlfriend?"

"Marley Rose."

Kurt felt a tingling down his spine. He wanted so dearly to punch the boy, or cause some physical harm in some way. He in visioned this many times before, Sebastian doing something to piss him off, then himself punching him into the next city.

Several screams were heard, as a masked man with a large knife walked in through the coffee shop. The crowd fell silent. He marched over to Barry. The young man stood still and wispered to him, "what do you want?"

"Nothing, really," the distorted voice said. "I just need the money." The man pulled out two large blades and stabbed him, just under the heart. "A fast death is never fun." He removed the blades with a jolt of speed, and ran off.

Barry fell to the floor, blood pouring out of his leg and chest. The next events that happened seemed like a big, fuzzy, blur to him. Blaine knelt down by his face shouting 'Sebastian', as Kurt pleaded people to call an ambulance.

It was this point that he felt weak. Physically and emotionally. He hated feeling weak. All he wanted to do was tell people to call S.T.A.R Labs. But he couldn't open his mouth. Instead, everything started going dark. Voices faded off in a muffled sound. All he could hear was Blaine and Kurt yelling, "Sebastian! Sebastian stay with us!" Everything went black.

"Your accuracy is improving," clock king said to a different man in a hoodie. "Keep this up and both Barry Allen and the Green Arrow will be dead."

"I look forward to our new relationship," the hooded man said.

"You and me, both."

"Is he going to be okay," Blaine got up from his seat. He and Kurt had been at the hospital for nearly eight hours. Many times had they heard the flatline coming from Sebastian's room. Doctors rushing in and out, barley keeping him alive. Marley had come there too, only six hours after the other two. They were all on edge.

'I never should have wished him to be hurt,' Kurt thought to himself. 'This is all my fault.'

"He's in a stable condition for now, but he's being transferred," the doctor looked at them.

"Transferred," Blaine asked. "Where?"

"S.T.A.R Labs," the doctor said flipping through his pages. "His family signed the documents." He handed them a page with Joe's signature.

Caitlin and Cisco entered Barry's room. They had him placed on a gurney. Cisco poked hid head out of the room to where Kara, Blaine, and Kurt were all standing. "Wanna give us a hand, Kara," he asked. The males looked at each other with confusion as Marley walked into the room. They pushed Sebastian out of his room, the female following behind.

"Excuse me," Blaine tapped her on the shoulder. "Why is he being moved?"

"We have the right technology to take care of him properly," she answered. "We had to go through all of this after the lightning bolt."

The men were taken back by this news. Lightning? Clearly there was a lot Sebastian wasn't telling them. "Can we visit him," Kurt asked. Somehow he too was concerned.

"Absolutely," she smiled at them.

Marley, the man, and the woman walked away with Sebastian. Kurt looked at Blaine. "Lightning bolt? Like he was struck by lightning," he asked. "Did he say anything to you about getting struck by lightning?" Blaine shook his head. They were speechless. They looked down at the documents that the doctor handed to them. 'Barry Allen,' it read. Who was Barry Allen?

Kara sat next to Barry, holding his hand. He was still asleep. She would have been more worried if she didn't know how he heals fast. They had been at S.T.A.R Labs for an hour. She was fighting off the need to fall asleep, herself. All of the machines hooked up to him, that's what kept her awake. The steady beeping was trying to lull her to sleep, but with every breath she was on edge to make sure the next one came after.

Blaine and Kurt cautiously walked up to the gates that separate S.T.A.R Labs from the public. They noticed the sign that had the word 'danger' written multiple times across it. "Why would they bring him here," Kurt asked. "The signs clearly say danger."

"I'm sure they know what they're doing," Blaine said reaching for the gate.

"Like they knew what they were doing with the partical accelerator," Kurt muttered.

They walked several yards to the main entrance, where revolving doors stood. You could see burn marks and paint that was rubbed away at, along the inside of the doors. As they made their way down the hallway, the tiles of the floor seemed to have worn down and had burn markings similar to the ones in the entrance. They found the elevator and pressed the button, leading to the floor that the cortex resides on.

Upon entering the cortex, the Flash suit was hidden, and many different monitors and computers. A woman with blonde hair and glasses was roaming around, speaking with the woman and man from the hospital. The trifecta turned their heads to the two men, whom had just entered. The man with long, dark hair fumbled around with the controls, as if he were trying to hide something.

"We're here to see Sebastian," Blaine said as he was losing feeling in his arm. Kurt was squeezing his arm.

"Right, yeah," the woman shook her head. "I'm Dr. Snow, by the way."

They both shook her hand. She guided them to the medical bay, where they found Marley sleeping in a chair next to the bed. She lifted her head, hearing them enter. She glanced at them, before staring back at Sebastian. She tried her best not to look worried about him. Needless to say, they caught onto her act.

"That's a good poker face you've got there," Blaine pointed to her.

She turned back at them when Sebastian opened his eyes. "Dejavu," he smiled.


	7. Revelation Part 2

Barry lay in the medical bay, hearing the beeping of his own heart. He wasn't dead. The last thing he remembered was talking to Blaine and Kurt. Wait, no. The man. He had to blades and he stabbed him. One in the leg and the other in the chest. He used his super speed to move an inch away. Unnoticeable to the human eye, but it kept him from being stabbed in the heart.

He was in S.T.A.R Labs. How he got there, he had no clue. But he was glad he was there instead of a hospital. "I'm Dr. Snow, by the way," he heard in Caitlin's voice. He wasn't alone. He could hear breathing right next to him.

"That's a good poker face you've got there," Blaine was there too. This was the perfect moment to open his eyes.

"Dejavu," he smiled.

Kara turned her head around so fast, a human would have gotten wiplash. "Barry," her tense face softened. She enveloped him in a hug, then slapped his shoulder, which he promptly clutched. "Don't you ever do anything like that again," she looked at him very sinserously. He gave her a groan of pain with his hand firmly placed on his shoulder. "Sorry," she pet his hand.

"Barry?"

Barry turned his head to Blaine, who had spoken. He smiled brightly, and then realized he was shirtless. He tugged on the covers, pulling them up at least over his stomach. "Blaine, Kurt," Barry had petrified and stressed emotions.

"Who's Barry," Kurt had this 'don't give me any crap' look on his face.

"Barry is my birth name."

"Why change it," Blaine asked.

"That is a story I don't want to go through right now," Barry verbally pushed them back. "Ka- Marley, can you go get Caitlin."

"Yeah, sure thing," she gave him a kiss on the forehead.

"Another question," Kurt pushed. "Lightning?"

Barry let out a groan. "Yes I was struck by lightning," he admitted.

"How," Kurt asked. Barry could almost hear a tone of sympathy in his voice. He hated that coming from Kurt. Thankfully, before he had to explain how his mom was murdered, for the seven thousandth time, Caitlin came in and shooed them away.

Everyone was out of the room, and she had finished all of the routine tests for when Barry gets injured (which happens more often then not). She leaned closer to Barry and wispered, "No Flash for twelve hours," in a very doctoral manner.

"What? No! Caitlin," he whined. "You can't do that."

"I'm sorry, but you need to give yourself some time to properly heal."

"What about the city? What are they going to do in my absence?"

"Barry, it's only eight PM to eight AM. If a problem comes up in the night, then the police can handle it. If not, then we have Oliver and Kara."

He gave her the pouty lip, and flopped himself on the bed. He sat there with his arms crossed and his eyebrows furrowed, like a toddler would. She just rolled her eyes and walked out of the room.

"Well, I think it's about time for us to be getting back to our hotel," Blaine said getting prepared to leave. "Tell Sebastian I will keep in touch like Warblers do."

"We will meet up for lunch tomorrow at wherever is best here," Kurt said as they were walking out the doors.

"Warblers," Felicity searched her mind. "Where have I heard that before? Must've been someone I went to college with."

Once again, the morning had arrived, and Barry was anxious to finally leave S.T.A.R Labs. Caitlin had once again, made him stay the night there. She did have probable cause to worry about him. If he so much as walked on his wounded leg, it would cause him an undesirable amount of pain. But it was morning time. He could finally go back to work, his girlfriend, his normal life.

Eight o'clock rolled around and as he expected, he could do all things as usual. He was released back to his life and the first thing he did was run (literally) home for a fresh change of clothes.

He found Joe sitting at the table, drinking homemade coffee. His eyes turned to the sound of the front door closing. A streak of lightning flew through the house. "Hey Barr," Joe greeted his son as he rushed downstairs.

"Hi Joe," Barry adjusted his shirt. He was wearing a simple blue flannel button down.

"How you feeling," Joe asked with concern.

"I've been through worse. What time did Singh want me in?"

"He doesn't," Joe shook his head. "The attack in Jitters was on the news. Everyone heard about it and once again, expected to to be dead."

"So what? Did- did Singh give my position away?"

"No. But he wants you to rest, heal. Just give him a few days, jut to put his concise to rest."

"Alright," Barry said in defeat. He was looking forward to going back to work. That was not going to happen that day. He considered the parts of his day. He could spend time with Oliver; no, he was working. He could be with Kara; no, she was also working. The only other option he could think if was to Flash around the city, doing random deeds, per the norm. Within seconds, he was running out of his house, back to S.T.A.R Labs. He was a little disappointed to have to be going back there just after leaving, but he couldn't just be sitting around doing nothing.

So he ran. He felt the wind in his hair, his face. He was breathing the speed force. His limbs moved so quickly, he became only a blur to the rest of the world. The running helped him clear his mind from the tragedies of his past, should he be thinking of them. The world seemed to be going at a pace so slow, that he could dodge obstacles before they knew he was coming.

He was so focused on his running, he didn't even notice nine blocks away from the lab. He ran back there to find a very shocked man. The burst of wind, the crackle of electricity, blinded Barry from who was standing there.

"Sebastian," the silhouette called at him. He would recognize this voice for a long time, if not forever.

Kara couldn't believe the article that lay before her eyes. 'Supergirl and Flash: just colleagues, or more than friends?' Her employer would never write an article like this. Or would she? Kara read on.

'While I was interviewing Central City's hero, we were inturupted by the arrival of Supergirl. The two promptly locked lips with each other, ending with the two admitting their secret relationship.'

Kara was unable to read on. Partly because it pained her to read her fifty something year old boss describing what had happened that night. Partly because her fifty something year old boss had entered the room.

She had given Kara a look. "I see you've found your way back into your old habits of looking at my articles before they're public."

"I'm sorry," she tried to think up an excuse to why she was reading it in the first place. "I was just curious about The Flash."

"Is that so," Cat half smiled. "Because I've been watching you make googly eyes at him for a while now. If I didn't know better, I'd say you have a celebrity crush on him."

Kara set down the article. "Well then it's a good thing you know better." Kara brushed past her, feeling really good about herself. Had she really just said that? Maybe Sebastian was beginning to make an impact on her. Weather it was positive or negative, seemed unclear.

After those words were uttered from her lips, Cat stood there in shock. She felt the younger woman brush her cardigan against her exposed shoulder while leaving. She found her way out of this funk in a matter of seconds, coming into a complete smile. After all this time, Kara finally stood up to her.

Barry squinted his eyes trying to make out the face of the unmistakable voice. It belonged to Kurt. He stood there unable to make a sound. Short unfinished bursts of 'how?', 'what?', and 'when?', escaped from his mouth. He was as pale as a sheet of paper. Kurt took a long while to take it all in before it could make any sense.

"You're... Flash," Kurt had his jaw hanging from the rest of his face. Caitlin and Cisco had gone out for lunch at a 'Stilton Pizza', Kara's favorite pizza place. That meant it was just he and Barry.

Barry rubbed the back of his neck. "You might want to sit down," he gestured at an office chair.

Kurt gladly accepted this invitation. His eyes never left Barry. He was afraid if he took his eyes off of him, he would run away.

"You heard about the lightning."

"Vaguely," Kurt was very interested in this topic.

"Well, around two and a half years ago, I was struck by lightning. It put me in a state of comatose for nine months."

Kurt let out a sharp gasp.

"I know. Somehow my muscles were defined instead of atrophied. Not three hours after leaving this place, I discovered it. I had super speed." Barry smiled to himself at that last part. "It was a bumpy start, but I became a superhero."

"Yes, but how?"

"Um, you've heard of the particle accelerator? Why am I even asking? Of course you have. That explosion released dark matter into our atmosphere, creating a storm cloud with lightning, which struck me. That's basically how we got all of these other meta-humans."

Barry purposefully left out the tragic back story. As fun of a conversation starter it was, he wasn't ready to tell this person who could, and would, tell everyone he knew. Kurt stood up to shake his hand, or give him a hug, when Oliver walked in the room. He saw what was happening and misread the situation and flipped Kurt to the ground, too fast for The Flash to react.

"Oliver," Barry shouted. "He wasn't hurting anyone!"

Oliver heard these words and removed his arm from Kurt's throat. Kurt stood up, rubbing his throat and catching his breath. "You... you know Oliver Queen." Kurt was finding a lack of words. He never expected to meet the hottest billionaire, let alone have his close acquaintance be buddies with him.

"Barr, the rest of us are going to be going back to Star City," he was choosing his words very conscientiously. The last thing Oliver needed was to have more people know about his secret identity.

"Right now," Barry asked.

"Yeah, there's another um, problem back there."

"Okay then," Oliver let Barry hug him. It was a stiff and awkward hug, but it meant a lot to Barry. "Bye Ollie," Barry called out while the other was leaving.

Kurt stood there in awe of what he just witnessed. Had his teenage tormentor just hugged Oliver Queen? "You know Oliver Queen," he repeated in shock.

"Well, when you're a superhero, you tend to meet some pretty important people."

"Can I be a superhero," Kurt have him the most devilish smolder he could conjure.

"No."


	8. The Calm After The Storm

Clock King's liar was dimly lit, the synchronized ticking of several clocks filling the otherwise silent room. The light clicking of his keyboard also covered the irritating lack of noise. He looked down at his now beeping watch. He turned to the entrance to find his hooded colleague to be walking up to it.

"Good to see you've found a way to be more punctual," he commented.

"Good to see you're still lacking compassion," he pulled down on his hood. The light from the computer screen illuminated his face, to reveal none other than Blaine Anderson.

"The friend you called," Talkman sneered, "I need you to call him again."

"He said he didn't want to work with you," Blaine crossed his arms. "He did his part and now all he wants is whatever it was you were going to give him."

"He didn't finish. His job was to kill The Flash, and yet I can still see him in all traffic cameras. He was late. I do not take well with those of whom I work with who do not listen. He can think of it as a blessing for me to give him a second chance."

"Yeah, well I doubt he is the first person who tried killing him. Why do you want him dead so badly anyway?"

"I don't. I want The Arrow dead, The Flash is just a companion who will protect him no matter where he is. As long as we kill Mr. Allen, nobody will be able to come to that vigilante's rescue."

Blaine shook his head. "Fine, I'll call him. But you need to keep your promise."

"Don't worry," an evil smile covered the man's face. "Your spouse will remain unharmed."

Barry sat alone in Jitters. Hopefully no one recognized him. In his mind he didn't have a very memorable face, but it had been all over the news for the past forty-eight hours. He was going to be able to go back to work today, which was something he was thoroughly lookin forward to. To his surprise, nobody had gone up to him. It wasn't too big a deal for a madman with a sword to come in and attack. With all of the meta-humans running about, it was kind of nice to see someone physically harm without powers.

He took a sip of the Flash he had ordered. Perhaps he would finally have a normal day for once. You know, 'the calm after the storm'. Is that the phrase? Either way, that is what he was thinking.

He turned his head to the television hanging high on the ceiling. "...it seems National City's hero is back," the announcer concluded. It was cut to a commercial break and Barry smiled to himself. He had a girlfriend who was back in her city, stopping crime just like they do. Just hearing that word in his head seemed unreal. Was he really with someone? She had left not long after Blaine and Kurt did that morning. All he had to worry about now was Clock King, wherever he was.

After Oliver went home, they decided it would be best to keep control of their own cities. If either of the two teams had evidence of Clock King's whereabouts, they would contact one another.

Somehow doing her job for once, iris was stopped by a Latina. The woman smiled brightly at iris, and showed her a map. "Hi, I could really use some help getting directions," the Latina seemed frustrated.

"Sure," iris nodded her head with understanding. This was something that happened to her at least once a week. "Where are you trying to get?"

"The police department," she answered hesitantly. "I- I just got my purse taken from me outside and I should probably report it."

"Oh, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I came from Ohio. I'm much tougher than this gorgeous body lets on."

"Well, I actually have a brother who works there. I believe he was on his way out anytime soon now." iris turned and walked over to Barry. She allowed the Latina to follow her as she made her way in front of him, the other woman behind him. "Hey Barry," she said causing him to look up. "I have someone you can go with to the precinct."

Barry raised an eyebrow. He turned his head to the woman standing behind him. Together the Latina and his own eyes nearly popped out of their skulls.

"San- Santana," Barry said in shock. It had come to his realization then, that the appropriate phrasing was 'the calm before the storm'. Of all the people to come, why did it have to be her? And why did it have to be right after Kara left?

"Oh," iris said, not knowing what she had just done. "I didn't know you two knew each other. I guess I will just leave you alone."

"No," Barry whispered after her. "iris. Wait." But he was two slow. iris was long gone, doing whatever it was she wanted to do. Barry gave her a death glare to the back and turned to Santana.

"You've got some explaining to do, before I go all Lima Heights on your-"

"Watch it," he warned. "There are children present. Now we can go to CCPD, or you can forget you ever saw me here and go ask someone else to escort you, Satan."

"Forget anybody else, I am going with you, Meerkat."

'Out of all the people in the city why her,' Barry thought to himself. The two had left Jitters and were now walking on the sidewalk. He would have much rather run instead of becoming more late than usual. His hopes were shattered by the woman who walked next to him. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her giving him glances of hate and curiosity. They both decided it would be best if the mile long trip was silent.

When they arrived at their destination, Barry told her to talk with the front desk and made a beeline for his lab. She watched him closely, making sure of which door he had slipped through, so that she would know where to go to follow him.

She talked to the front desk and received a handful of papers. This was too much trouble to go through for a purse with forty dollars in it. This would take her half an hour at the least, to fill out. She still needed answers. Sebastian was upstairs doing something and she wanted to know what.

She glanced around her and ditched the papers. She popped the collar of her coat up so that she would go less noticed as she climbed the stairs. At the top of the stairs was a room entitled:

Barry Allen

Forensics Lab

'Barry,' she repeated over in her head, 'where have I heard that name before? That wouldn't be my Berry, because her name is spelled with an 'e'. Wait... isn't that what that lady was calling Sebastian?' She decided to take a peak into the room, to see if Sebastian was in there. She had seen him go up the stairs but was uncertain over which room he had entered.

She was shocked to see what Sebastian was doing. He was hunched over a pile of paperwork, an unreadable look on his face. Actually, the closer she got, the more it looked like he was... enjoying it? Sebastian was probably the worst person she had met, so why would he be doing some other guy's work? Perhaps it was a guilty pleasure he used to earn extra cash. Maybe it was all a ploy used to lure her in so that he could publicly embarrass her.

Santana looked around the room, making note of everything she saw, to make sure there was nothing he could use against her. There was a chain hanging from the ceiling, presumably for opening and closing the skylight. Multiple different chemicals were sitting on separate shelves; most of them still in their liquid state. Scattered throughout the room were various pieces of trash from food: wrappers, pizza and doughnut boxes, all seemed to be only a day old.

Once nothing in the lab seemed suspicious, she cleared her throat. He did nothing but sit there, muttering incoherent things under his breath. She was about to speak up, or more accurately shout at him, when another man came up behind her. Upon hearing the footsteps, she instinctively whipped her head the meet the face of her attacker.

The man had a beard, not full, yet not stubble either. He was not quite as tall as Sebastian but was still taller than herself. He looked at her with surprise. She glanced at the pocket on his blazer, which he was pulling over his arms as he entered. Hanging out of it was his captain's badge. She took a few steps to her right, to clear his path.

"Allen," the man called. Sebastian looked up from his work. His eyes darted back and forth between the man and the woman. He opened his mouth but was interrupted by the captain. "Let's move. I need you at a crime scene, another murder. Joe is out so you can ride with me."

"Yes sir," he popped up from his chair and grabbed his jacket. As he passed by the woman, he clumsily fell. Tripping over his feet and with his jacket on inside out, he turned to Santana saying, "I- I'll explain later."

James walked into the Catco building. As usual, he was early. He swung by Noonan's and to his surprise, didn't run into Kara while he was there. He was halfway expecting to hear she'd be taking the day off. Supergirl was very busy at Central City, and he noticed on the news that morning that she was back. A couple of lowlife guys were robbing a bank and she rendered the getaway car useless, with help from her heat vision. It isn't very easy to drive off with flat tires.

As he made it to his floor, he picked up one of the newspapers. Glancing down at the headline, he froze. He blinked a few times and reread it. 'Supergirl and Flash: Just Colleagues or More Than Friends?'

He read each and every word, making sure he was getting it right. Kara was dating The Flash? He swore to himself that the next time he saw Kara, he would make her prove this wrong. And wouldn't you know, he did not have to wait long.

Kara was typing away on her computer placed in front of her. He observed her for a minute, watching as she would type for a few seconds then stop for a few seconds, smiling. Then she would repeat. The cycle continued for minutes until it clicked for James. She was having a conversation.

He decided to peer over her shoulder. Alertness wasn't her friend. He was able to sneak up behind her and read what she was typing.

'I'm sorry,' she wrote in an almost speedily fast pace.

'Yeah you should be. Now I'm all alone,' the other person sent. They too carried on the conversation at the quickness that seemed to be established prior to the arrival of James.

'You do realize, I am by myself too'

'But I am far more important than you. ;)'

A smiley face with a wink? That could mean only one of two people: Winn or Alex. He looked up at the sender's ID at the top of the screen. 'Barry,' it read. He searched his brain for a Barry. Was that the guy who just started in the food column downstairs? No, that was Gary. Barry! The guy who visited them not to long ago!

Barry, The Flash.


	9. A Proclivity For Antagonism

Barry squished himself into the squad car. It wasn't just his height that made it a difficult and long journey. He was also used to going at speeds ten times as fast as he was going then, that is why Joe sometimes 'takes him to work', when in reality, that was just his cover story. He carefully slipped his phone out of his pocket and began messaging Kara.

It didn't take long for the captain to notice how distant his CSI looked. Singh poked his head to his right, glancing down at Barry's phone. The young man smiled brightly at the sight of a new message, his fingers taped wildly on the screen.

"I didn't think homicides would get you in such good mood," Singh joked.

Barry's smile disappeared from his mouth and his head snapped to his boss.

"Oh, no. I just," he began before getting cut off.

"It's fine. You can text your girlfriend if you want."

"How- how did you know it was my girlfriend?"

"I didn't," Singh chuckled. Both men smiled at each other. "Why don't you tell me about her."

"Well," Barry smiled, "we met in high school, but we didn't immediately hit it off. Our schools had kind of a rivalry and I never really got to know her. That is, not until I took a trip to National City. We reunited and I think that is when we decided we have more in common than we thought. We didn't actually verbalize these similarities until before we started dating. I just hope her going back to her city to work isn't breaking her amazing spirit."

"Sounds like a real winner," Singh aplauded. "What does she do in Supergirl's city?"

"Oh, she's Cat Grant's personal assistant."

Singh whistled in surprise. "That woman can be quite the soul-crusher."

"Yeah," Barry nodded, "that's why I'm a little on edg..." His words trailed off as they pulled up to the crime scene. It was in the middle of a park. There were families explaining what they had witnessed, the once innocent eyes of children, now clouded by the harsh reality of life.

Barry could never appear to be bothered by the things that he saw. It was his job. Examining dead bodies of all ages. What really hurt him was when he had to see the young child victims. There were no words to describe his hatred towards those sadistic monsters who killed children with no remorse.

Although he kept a straight face while looking at those things, he could feel the worst of emotions boiling up inside of him. The only reason for this hatred that he could think of was because of the fateful night with his mom. He was just a kid but he wished it were him and not her. As he grew older he knew his mom wouldn't want things to be that way. She always believed children were the future.

He felt a slight relief hit him when he saw the body was that of an adult. Another man lay in a grassy field, single bullet wound to the head. He knelt down, sliding his gloves over his fingers and opening his sampling case. This was the part of his passion that irked him.

Kara sighed in disapproval at her boyfriend's risky decision to end their conversation so abruptly. It was like a Ouija board; If he didn't say goodbye, he knew she wouldn't stop haunting him. He knew she would come for him in a matter of seconds if he just left her hanging.

But Kara knew better.

She knew if he didn't say his salutations, it was probably because of something important. He was probably out stopping another meta. The more she thought about Barry on the field, the more nervous she got for him. What if he got hurt again. Sure he heals fast, but he was still capable of feeling pain. She was feeling her breath quicken, when a hand placed itself on her shoulder, causing her to tense.

Her head turned to meet James' eyes. She relaxed herself and smiled at him. "How may I help you mister Olsen?"

"I was just wondering if you could stop it with the formalities and talk to me like a normal person," he teased.

"Sorry," she sighed, "it's just been a long day without seeing Barry and-"

"I'm gonna stop you right the there," he interrupted. "What do you mean 'without seeing Barry'?"

"Oh, I didn't tell you?"

"You didn't tell him what," an eager Winn walked over from his desk. Kara tried to warn him with a look, but he wasn't getting the message. He smiled with his shoulders pinned up to his neck, while holding his coffee mug with both hands.

"Barry and I are seeing someone. By someone I mean each other. By seeing I mean dating," Kara's face turned red.

James' expression remained serious while Winn's smile slid with his shoulders.

"That- that's great," James tried to smile bunt ended up with an almost confused look. "I'm happy for you."

"Thanks, I wasn't sure how you were going to react," she smiled.

"Why," Winn cried. "Why him?"

"Well, we some common interests."

"What, did he make your suit?"

"No, but we were in neighboring towns, we were both in glee club, we are both superheroes," she lowered her voice on that last fact.

Both Winn and James leaned over themselves snickering. "Glee... Glee club," was all she could make out.

She stood up and walked away from her desk, "Oh, shut up."

Barry raced to his lab to make sure Santana didn't touch anything. The last thing he needed was for her to screw up one of his tests.

"Hi Barr," Joe greeted him as he rushed up the stairs. Barry, however, didn't answer, as he was in too much of a rush. Joe watched him with a parental eye as he continued going down the stairs.

Barry burst into his lab to find Santana opening up one of his chemicals. He set his CSI bag on his desk and marched to her removing the beaker from her hands. He read the label and dropped his jaw at her. 'H2SO4,' it read.

"No," he said with exasperation. He took the seal from her possession and promptly placed it tightly back on. "H2SO4 is sulphuric acid," he elaborated noting her offended look.

"Of all the things you would be after you graduated, scientist was last on my list," Santana frowned.

"Yes, well out of all the people I wanted here today, you were last on my list," Sebastian growled.

Santana always expected Sebastian to become some sort of performer, like Berry had. He had the talent and the 'star quality' type of attitude.

He set the beaker of deadly chemical on his shelf and turned back to the demon of his past. "So, what are you doing in my city."

"Just some sight seeing," sarcasm laced her voice. "I figured if I jumped off a tall building, I could meet The Flash."

Sebastian scoffed. "If The Flash wanted to save you he'd better start his life of crime now."

"Funny, I thought the meerkat would move back to Paris with his Mother and Father."

"What's your angle?"

"Oh, no angle... Barry," she snapped.

His face became pallid. "Who- who's Barry," he shook his head. He hadn't noticed it yet, but his hands were shaking.

"Well, I walked in here to find you diligently doing paperwork, but before that I read the sign to the room. That was when I thought to myself, 'who is this Barry Allen nerd?' You can imagine my surprise when I caught you doing his job and being called on by the captain. By his name. After you were dragged out, I couldn't help but wonder what the last Warbler captain was doing in such a clumsy body. So I Google searched 'Barry Allen'. You know what came up?"

Barry swallowed hard. He knew she would find out eventually. As much as he wanted it to be 'Sixth Grade Boy Wows Judges At Science Fair Once Again,' he knew his fate would be far worse.

"Here, let me read it to you. 'Doctor Kills Wife, Nora Allen, In Front of Their Son. Henry Allen stabbed his wife with a kitchen knife, in front of eleven year-old Barry Allen. The boy claims a man in yellow killed her and not his dad, but officials assure it was just his post tramatic stress disorder talking.' Care to fill in the holes?"

He wanted to scream but he was frozen. He knew if he was to rant to her about his father's innocence, it would just make he believe he was crazy. He couldn't do that. His rivalry between her made him believe he still had the human part of metahuman in him. So he just replied with a meek, "I changed my name to Sebastian in high school."

"Right," she said halfhearted.

"What," he noticed her slightly toned down personality.

"Isn't there anything else? Like about how-"

"Look, there's no big mystery to solve. I just changed my name back to Barry and moved back to Central City after I graduated."

"Okay," she sunk her eyes back to her phone, "how about this article; 'Barry Allen: Struck By Lightning'? This can't be you."

He sighed. He was getting tired of explaining all of this to all of these McKinley nerds. "That one's true," he shrugged.

"Fievel got hit by lightning? I can't wait to tell Lady Hummel about this," she smiled, pressing the home button on her phone. She taped on the string of texts between her and a 'Lady Hummel,' as her phone assigned to Kurt.

'Meerkat was hit by lightning,' she texted. All Sebastian did was smirk. It was almost as if he knew what was coming.

'You mean nearly two years ago?'

Santana's eyes filled with rage. "He knew," she shouted at Sebastian.

"Yup," he was still smiling. "Blaine and he visited not too long ago. Don't worry, they weren't visiting me."

Barry felt a vibration on his side and checked to see if it was his shaking hands getting out of control. Thankfully it was just his phone. He slipped it out of his pocket and put it against his ear. He turned his back to Santana, who was typing up a storm to Kurt.

"Hello," he asked.

"Barry," Caitlin said urgently, "you need to get over here."

"What are you talking about, Cait?"

"S.T.A.R. Labs. Now."

"I'm kind of in the middle of something. Can't this wait?"

"Now, Barry!"

"Okay, calm down. I'm on my way." He hung up the phone to turn back to Santana. "I, uh," he started but no one was there. "Figures she'd ditch," he groused. He walked out of the precinct and ran to S.T.A.R. Labs.

"What do you want," the man in the hooded jacket growled. He was once again called back to the liar of William Tockman, despite doing what was asked of him. "I thought you were a bank robber, not a killer."

"Oh I'm not a killer," he removed his glasses. "You are."

"So what? You need to hire someone else to get their hands dirty with the things you don't want to do?"

"Exactly," he placed his glasses back on his face, meeting the eyes of the hooded man. "I need someone to do the job I paid them to do!"

"You paid me nothing!"

"Nothing!? How do you think you got off Scott free from that murder?! Who do you think did that?"

"My freedom was not the deal," Puck hastily pulled his hood down. "Twelve thousand, or I walk!"

"How much do you think it cost for me to pay off that judge? Or all of those jurors? You didn't succeed. That means you still owe me."

"What do you want me to do now," he rubbed his eyes.

"Finish the job," he said with a stern tone.

"What's going on," Barry said, less than a second after he flashed into S.T.A.R Labs.

"Nothing," Cisco called, "I just got bored."

"But it was Caitlin who called me from here," Barry furrowed his brows.

"Nope," Cisco smiled, "it was me. I created a voice modulator!" He held up a circular device about the dementions of a dime.

"That's great," Barry aplauded. "So, how do they work?"

"Well, I got some of the microengineering tips from Ray, but it's super easy. You just stick it on the larynx of the person you want to sound like, then you take this remote and press the 'imitate' button. After that you place it on your larynx and press the same button. Wanna give it a try?"

"Sounds like fun," he smiled.

Cisco nodded and handed Barry the modulator, being careful that he not drop it. Barry put it on his neck and Cisco pressed the button.

"Is it working," Caitlin's voice came through Barry's mouth. His eyes widened and both of them laughed.

"What's so funny," Caitlin entered the cortex.

"Nothing," Caitl- er, Barry said with the woman's voice.

Caitlin's face was mortified.


	10. Lies

Barry was getting tired of holding down a long distance relationship. They both knew it would be hard, but the other could come to their city in a matter of minutes. So that's what he was doing.

He was running to National City.

It was only a thousand miles away, so he calculated going 2301.807 miles an hour for 1000 miles, it would only take him approximately 39 seconds. That doesn't sound like a very long time, but when you're a speedster dying to see his girlfriend, it feels like hours.

Kara was sitting on her couch, enjoying her always short lived leisure time. She was normally far too busy, what with being Supergirl and the assistant to the most powerful person in National City.

Her eyes glided over to her windows, to see a bright orange light zipping past all the National City traffic. She rushed to her door and opened it for the speedster. She waited there for a few seconds.

When minutes passed, she decided to call him. She had her back to the open door while she was dialing his number. No one was answering. A knock came from behind her and a smile of relief fell on her face as she exclaimed, "Barry!"

"No," the man at the door said as she turned around. "Just James."

"Did you see Barry in the elevator or on the stairs, by any chance," she inquired.

"No," he shook his head, "sorry."

'This is fine,' she thought. 'I'm sure he's just picking up some Mama Chow's. Or, or maybe I didn't see him at all. Then why didn't he answer his phone?'

Her thoughts were interrupted by James, "Why, did he say he was coming?"

"No," Kara responded. "I just, I thought I saw him. Outside, I mean."

"Huh," James shrugged. "I brought you some dinner," he held up a bag of takeout.

"Ooh," she squealed. "Thank you! I am so hungry!"

"Well, I was thinking, maybe we could have dinner toge-"

Kara's phone began ringing in her hand. She smiled at it while she pressed the button. "Barry,"she breathed.

"Hey. Could you meet me outside? I'm in the alley right next to your apartment."

"Always," she hung up the phone. She paused a minute before looking at James. "I, uh, Barry called me and-"

"It's fine," he nodded her off. "If you want to go out with your 'boyfriend' you can."

"Thanks," she gently hugged him, not noticing the annoyance coming from him.

She ran down the stairs, nearly slipping on several, to meet him. He was her life. The elevator would never be able to hold the amount of excitement pent up inside of her. She burst through the side exit, and found her way to Barry, literally jumping into his arms. A small "oof" could be heard by the man but that didn't stop her from the warm hug she captivated him in.

"Kara, I-"

"No," she said, still containing him in her arms. "No talking. I just want to enjoy this moment. The one I'm spending with you." Her embrace was soon countered by one of his own. They both had their eyes closed and Kara's face was buried in his chest. He smelled of pencil shavings, stale coffee, and lint, with just a hint of smoke. They discreetly swayed side to side with one another, and this position was held for a good few minutes.

Eventually Kara was the first to pull out. She still gently rest her head on his shoulder as she breathed, "Why do we always have to be in alleys?"

"I dunno," he shrugged with her still leaned against him. "Maybe it can be our secret place. Somewhere only we know, so that if we ever need the other, we can just call for them."

Kara smiled at the thought before shifting onto her own weight. She looked in the direction Barry was facing the entire time and gaped. She raised a pair of knitted eyebrows and smiled.

Standing in front of her was a square table with two chairs facing each other. On top of the white sheet was a warm dinner and two lit candles. It smelled to her like roast beef, but she was never really a chef. She was more of a freezer meal type of girl.

He lifted the trays to reveal what appeared to be herbal Italian sausage, paired with carrots and peas. "Your meal, miss," he pulled her chair out and guided her in.

"Thank you, my good sir," she bowed her head at him.

He let out a short chuckle before returning to a somewhat straight face. "I love you, Kara."

She gave him a small but genuine smile. "I love you too."

"Where'd Barry go," Caitlin inquired.

Cisco raised his head from his work to look her in the eye. "Do our entire lives revolve around that guy," he rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Well, considering you're playing with his suit there," she pointed at the red fabric in his hands, "I'd say a good portion of our lives are now spent on keeping him safe."

"Okay, first it's my suit," Cisco waved the the material a few feet higher in the air. "Second, I'm adding in upgrades."

"Oh," Caitlin shifted her footing. "So, what's new?"

"I just wanted to try out this more durable rubber for the soles of the shoes. "

She laughed. "I meant with you. You're just proving my point."

"I invited Dante over," he shrugged, "you know, to prove to him how cool engineering can be."

"Right. As opposed to the fabulous life of a piano composer."

"Hey, if he can make fun of my profession, I can make fun of him. Besides, he doesn't think I'm cool. Besides, our mom's birthday is coming up and I thought we could get her something nice."

"So you're going to reveal the Flash's secret identity to him," she gestured back at the boots in his hand. "Brilliant," Caitlin patronized. "I need to get some lunch with a friend, stay out of trouble."

He scoffed before picking up his cell phone. "Hey Barr," he greeted, phone squished between his head and shoulder. "Just fixing up my suit. Where have you been?"

"You noticed my absence," Barry teased.

"Well, sure there were less distractions here."

"Ha ha," Barry laughed a non humored laugh. "What do you mean fixing the suit?"

"You know, replacing the soles of the shoes you wear out every other day," his voice growing more and more agitated. "Why do you always insist I put in the rubber stuff, I can name like twelve other materials that would take longer to run down."

"Funny, I thought the only material you could name was pleather."

Cisco glared. Barry couldn't see it, but he continued to glare.

"I don't know," Barry honestly answered. "For stealth?"

"Okay, so when you're secretly running into a room, the lightning dims down? Or do the sonic booms become softer?"

"Oh hush," he rolled his eyes.

"So why'd you call?"

"I think I could use your help with something," Barry breathed.

"You're proposing to Kara," Cisco shouted with joy.

"No! No. Not yet," Barry tried calm Cisco, but mostly himself. "I need you to track someone down."

Cisco puffed air through his lips in humor. "Will it prove to you that I'm a better hacker than Felicity?"

"So that's a no."

"Yes, Barry. I can track down anybody you ask me to. Unless it's Batman. Or Bruce Wayne. Those guys are impossible to find." Cisco moved into the cortex from his workroom.

"Right," he shook his head. "I need you to find a sort of group. They're called the Warblers."

"Why do you need me to find... a glee club," Cisco read off before it clicked. "You were a member of the Dalton Academy Warblers!"

"Yes, Cisco, and I heard they were having a reunion in Central City."

"And nine of them are on a plane to here from Ohio."

Cisco could hear a long sigh on the other end of the line. "They're coming," the singer groaned.

"I had fun on our impromptu date yesterday," Kara leaned her ear onto her phone.

"I did too," Barry giggled.

"And I'm sorry your past is coming to haunt you without me."

"Nah, you've got your own problems. Like your alien family trying to kill you."

"Yeah," she smiled. "Good times."

"I love you and miss you," he gushed.

"Don't be too heartbroken, I need to come down there for... something."

"Kara, I swear to Rao, if you don't tell me-"

"I need to come for the McKinley High glee cub reunion this weekend."

"No, no. The Warbler reunion is this weekend, over here!"

The two sat in the tension filled silence for a few moments. "Rao we need to get video chat."

"I'm late enough as it is, I've gotta go."

"Bye bye," she said in a baby voice.

"Bye bye," he insinuated.

Barry hung up his phone and raced into S.T.A.R. Labs. It was still midmorning, so he decided to check for crime or whatever.

"What's the happs," he asked, clapping his hands together. He poked his head to each side of him, but no one was in the cortex. "Cisco," he called. "Caitlin?" No reply.

He set out to Cisco's room, when a pair of footsteps stopped him. He turned himself back to the cortex to see Dante listening to classical music with earphones, in which Barry could hear all the way from the entrance.

"Dante," he asked the back of the man's head. But he wasn't turning around. So the younger man tried louder. "Dante!"

Dante shook before turning around, facing a man he did not recognize. He tugged a headphone out of his ear. "Who are you," the very confused brother asked.

"I'm Barry," he answered quickly to move on. "Where's Cisco?"

"How do you know my little brother?"

"Do you know where he is or not?"

"No," he raised his hands in surrender. "Have you seen him? We were supposed to go shopping for our mother's birthday gift an hour ago."

"That's not good," uttered from Barry's lips. He was the late one, not Cisco. If anything, Cisco was the always early one.

As fast as he could, he whipped his phone out to call Cisco. With every ring he was on edge. When he heard his best friend pick up you could hear the relief in his voice. "Oh, Cisco," he breathed with satisfaction, "you had me going for a minute."

Once again, no one responded. All Barry could hear was the muffled cries of a man, hyperventilating.

"Cisco," an unsure Barry asked, "...is that you?"

"hats... hot Hanhe," said the soft whispers that was now Cisco's voice.

"What, I don't understand," Barry turned his head to face the brother, but as he was conducting this motion, he felt a glass break over his head, sending him crashing to the floor.

He didn't have a minute to hang up his phone before he was struck to the ground, rendering him unconscious. He lay on the cold floor of the cortex, receiving small cuts from the broken glass, ones that would inevitably heal themselves in minutes, but still cuts nonetheless.

Dante leaned over and took the arms of the scarlet speedster, dragging him away from the broken glass and out of the cortex, where the small shards covered in blood resided. He got into the stairway, deciding if anyone were to enter the facility, they would probably want to take the elevator. He wasn't careful about taking the body down the stairs, letting two of the four limbs fall down each step behind him.

Once they made it down the stairs he picked Barry up bridal style and took him outside. Dante opened the back door to a jet black van. Inside of the van was nothing but a tied up Cisco who had managed to get himself into a sitting position, slightly squirming at the sight of his friend's unconsciousness.

Dante threw him into the van and tied him up not too different to Cisco, who had now slowed his breathing back down. Slamming the door closed, Dante marched to the driver's seat, Barry and Cisco left in the darkness of the back of the van.


	11. All Tied Up

Cisco stared, eyes ajusting to the darkness, to see his best friend stirring awake. Barry's eyes squinted open then squeezed closed. With the sight of the possibility harmed friend, Cisco found the strength to bite through his gag and talk to him.

"Barry? You okay," he spat out the brittle cloth.

But he didn't answer right away. He first waved his hand over his face a couple of times and bit through the gag in his own mouth. "Cisco," he asked.

"Yeah?"

"Where are we?"

"In the back of a van. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. You good?"

"I'm good. Despite our situation, that is."

Barry let his eyes ajust to the eerie darkness of the van and tried looking at his tied hands behind his back. The only thing to let his eyes converge to the darkness, was the small blue light glowing from the ropes. Scratch that: metal. He was in power dampening handcuffs. This wasn't good.

Barry shuffled a little bit in disgust. He was stricken down by Cisco's brother with a- Cisco's brother!

"That was your brother who did this," Barry gritted his teeth.

"No, that's what I was trying to tell you on the phone, 'that's not Dante.'"

"But," Barry tried to piece together the evidence. It all led to Dante. The music, the relation, the face. "That was Dante. I saw his face and it was Dante Ramon. Are you trying to tell me it was someone who looked exactly like Dante?"

Cisco gasped. "The vocal modulator!"

"I don't think your device made to disguise voices made him look like Dante."

"No, but the smart glass can."

"Smart glass? What are you talking about?"

"Smart glass, it's the stuff we put in front of my suit after you learned how to phase," Cisco explained. "If someone walks in and isn't a member of Team Flash, it will look like there isn't anything there. We wanted to see how long you would go before crashing into the glass. Theoretically, someone could take the technology and manipulate it into making element a look like element b."

"If this person looks talks and acts just like Dante, then-"

"Talk," he half shouted. "If you wanted to sound like the other person, you had to put the technology on their throat!"

"Something tells me this guy didn't ask politely," Barry grunted.

They sat there, in the dark, for fifteen more minutes, thinking about Dante and themselves. Feeling every bump in the road, every sputter of the engine, and every break not Dante took, Cisco could tell where they were. As far as anyone would be concerned, he and Barry were on their way to the rural areas of Central City. Not that it mattered. There was no way anybody would find out.

Not Dante had convinced Cisco to disable the security cameras before he was caught in a choke hold by, who he thought was, his brother. The crook of not Dante's elbow lay just against his nose, a strange aroma coming from it. He struggled for a few minutes until he lost the ability to hold his eyes open. It was totally out of character for Dante to f of such a thing.

His brother was no saint, opposed to what their parents believed. No, in high school he wasn't a popular kid, neither of them were. He was just good enough at music to receive a scholarship to the community college, which he quickly dropped out of. He and their parents thought he was too good for a local college, and he hadn't furthered his education.

Cisco, on the other hand, was smart. Really smart. Unfortunately, this quality was left unnoticed by his parents. They waved it away as they did every 'A.' Not even his academic scholarship seemed to please them. He would never be able to live in the shadow of his brother. It wasn't until he got his job at S.T.A.R. Labs when he finally felt he was in a place where he could be praised for his intellect.

He didn't hate his brother. No, he simply just needed stop being compared to him. Every time he called their mother, it was always, "Dante this, Dante that." He wanted them to be on the same level. So no, Cisco did not want his brother to get hurt.

The van came to a jolting stop, causing a painful collision between Cisco's head and the metal wall beside him. Barry tried to aid the man, but his hands were quite literally tied.

Cisco rubbed his left temple. When he was unable to feel wetness under his fingers, he breathed a small laugh, "I'm not bleeding. That's something."

Barry opened his mouth to say something, but was stopped by the sound if the back doors being unlocked. He lowered his voice to a whisper, "you remember the plan?"

Plan? There was a plan? What plan?! Cisco was too busy daydreaming about his own family drama, that he didn't hear the highly detailed plan Barry had come up with.

Not Dante opened the door and Barry booked it. He didn't have his speed and his hands were cuffed behind him, but he still managed to retain enough ballance to leave the van. He slipped away from not Dante, and fell to the floor, his bruised and battered legs not prepared to function on their own just yet. He lay on the dusty ground, resentment clear through his eyes, and a single word came from his lips: "now."

Cisco stay silent in the van, unsure of what Barry wanted him to do. He couldn't just sit there though. There had to be something to help with.

Just before Cisco was about to jump onto not Dante, a round of applause filled the field they were parked in. Barry was snapped out of his glaring and looked at the clapping culprits. They were well dressed men in their mid to late twenties, some rocking a tan. He saw Blaine and Kurt in the rather large group of men and caught wind of what was going on.

"Surprise," one of the men called out.

"Thad," Barry nearly smiled. He sighed, "this isn't what I think it is, is it?"

"Yup," he couldn't contain his happiness. "Pre reunion reunion!"

"You kidnapped me. And my friend."

"His friend is my brother," Dante corrected.

"Sorry about that Cisco," Blaine called to the man getting out of the van.

"I got that," Barry turned his back to Cisco and untied the ropes containing his hands. Cisco turned to face Barry's back and pulled a key to unlock the handcuffs from his pocket. With a click, Barry resumed his hands in front of him while Cisco gave his brother a good slap in the face.

"We thought it'd be a good prank," Thad explained. "You know, for all those times you 'kidnapped' us for practice."

"But this I can sue over," Barry pointed out. He was angry at them, but a little bit proud.

"You know, I think I can still sue over the slushy incident," Blaine thought aloud to Barry.

"Point taken," Barry nodded. "Then again, how do you compare a rock salt slushy to a glass bowl broken over your head?"

"First of all, that was not the agreement," Kurt scolded Dante, who was still being lectured by a very angry Cisco. "Second, he had to get surgery. You don't even have a single cut on your head."

"Third of all," Jeff added, "how don't you have any scratches?"

"I heal fast. How long has it been," he changed the subject as quickly as possible, "ten months? A year?"

"Two years," Jeff gave him an unamused look. "And here I thought we were friends," he dramatically turned his head to the air.

"We- we are," he reached out his hand. "And I have a really good explanation."

"You'd better," he teased. Truthfully he knew how people lose contact after high school, especially after your school has been burnt to a crisp.

"He was in a coma," Kurt shouted, wanting to be the first to say it.

All of the bantering Warblers turned their heads to the now very interesting conversation. A crowd began to form around the five.

"Wh- y- you never thought to share this information with the rest of us," Thad asked incredulously.

"You forgot about the lightning," Blaine fanned the fire.

Everyone leaned closer to the scientist, expecting to hear a shout from their last ever captain. But Sebastian didn't say anything, Cisco did.

"So if you guys are his glee club-"

"Show choir," one of them mumbled.

"Whatever," Cisco said to the unnamed Warbler. "Do you guys know that one song with the guy thats is in love with the girl, who's searching everywhere to find the right guy?"

They all murmured in agreement.

"Let's do position seventeen," Sebastian waved his finger in the air.

They all moved accordingly, when Thad suggested, "why don't we have Cisco sing lead?"

Everyone was excited about the idea and convinced Cisco to do it.

"I see you in the lonely place

How could you be so blind," Cisco sang with Barry singing the background.

"You still regretting the love you left, left behind

I seen you go through the changes

Sitting alone each night

Are you expecting to find the love, love that's right"

Cisco paused as the Warblers all joined in.

"Darling open your eyes

Let me show you light

Girl you never find a love that's right

Darling open your eyes

Let me show you the light

Girl you think your so wise, your so wise"

He swiftly moved to the conveniently placed piano and Dante what he was made of.

"There are times when you need someone

I will be by your side

I'll take my chances before they pass, pass me by

Oh darling, there is a light that shines

Special for you and me

You need to look at the other side, you'll agree"

"Darling open your eyes

Let me show you the light

You may never find a love that's right

Darling open your eyes

Let me show you the light

You may never find a love that's right"

The Warblers took turns in miniature dance battles, and as impressed as Cisco was, he had to one up them with a triple back flip ending in a spin.

"Darling open your eyes

Let me show you the light

You may never find a love that's right

Darling open your eyes

Let me show you light

Girl you think your so right

You may never find a love that's right

Hmm, dada hmm, dada dada

Hey!

Open your eyes

Let me show you the light

You may never find the love that's right!

Darling open your eyes

Let me show you the light

You may never find the love that's right.

That's right!

Girl you think you're so wise, so wise."

Everyone cheered and clapped Cisco on the back. "You know," Blaine smiled, "if we were still in high school and the Warblers were still a thing, we'd let you join."

Everybody swarmed around the honorary Warbler, while Barry leaned to Kurt and asked, "why the meta-human handcuffs?"

"What?"

"When I was kidnapped, Cisco had ropes around his wrists and I had the power dampening handcuffs. Why?"

"I didn't have anything to do with it," his eyes went wide with suspicion. "That means someone else knows your secret."

Song - Open Your Eyes - Tha Los


	12. Trust Issues

Barry and Kurt looked all across the room with their eyes. Barry knew this place. It was where he and Oliver had first trained, and now the lovely Warblers found it. They all huddled into their friend cliques while the two, previously mentioned, were silently reading people's facial expressions. Well, almost silently.

"Who do you think it is," Kurt's voice fell into a low near growl, but didn't pull Barry from concentration.

"What are you two talking so seriously about," Blaine came up to them, giving Kurt a side hug.

"Flash business," Kurt squeezed the other man's side.

"You told him," Barry gaped.

"Is that not okay," Kurt looked at him as he would an air safety pamphlet: glancing up and down to see if he got the gist of it. "It's not like Blaine has wronged you in any way."

"I- I guess it's alright," Barry relinquished his anger toward Kurt and got his head back into the game. There was a traitor in the Warblers, was the way Kurt put it to Blaine.

"So who do think it is," Kurt asked to resume the conversation they were having minutes before.

"Jeff has been awfully quiet," Barry suggested. "But Thad has been talking a bit too much."

"Does it have to be someone close to you," Kurt asked in a whiney tone. "Can't it just be Dante?"

"I trust Cisco with my life, which he has had to demonstrate that trait many times in the past, and he has only built my trust for him higher over the time I have known him. He has told me he wouldn't tell anyone our secret," Barry defended, "and that includes Dante."

"I get that, Barry. I do. But from what Kurt has told me, there have been instances in the past of you trusting someone who isn't being honest with you," Blaine stared with seemingly genuine concern.

"Cisco is... different," he looked down for a moment, a small blush sprinkled itself across the young man's face.

"Not to mention, Dante is his own brother," Blaine continued. "Who can keep secrets from their brother?"

"They have had issues with getting along and stuff in the past, so I'm not too worried about Cisco telling him something this important," Barry shared. "Why do you think Cisco is still assaulting him?" He gestured to the bickering brothers.

"Someone should probably get between them," Kurt said in a monotonous voice.

"Yeah," Blaine agreed.

They watched as Cisco slapped Dante clear across the face. Dante held onto his stinging cheek and tackled Cisco to the ground. The two took turns pinning one another to the ground, until they both got too tired and sweaty to go on. Laying on the cold cement by the van, they still smacked the other's stomach in attempts to be the stronger man.

"Look," Blaine drew the attention back to himself, "I've got a brother. We've had some rough patches in the road, but in the end I've made up with him and tell him everything. Despite the annoyed headaches he can give me."

"He's got a brother," Barry whispered in question to Kurt.

"Yeah, he's in that one credit rating website commercial from a few years back."

"Oh my gosh, I love that commercial," Barry nearly jumped with excitement before mumbling the jingle, dancing at his shoulders to annoy Blaine.

"I think the point Blaine is trying to make," Kurt made a whisking motion with his hand, "is that even if he hates his brother, he secretly loves him. And if you love someone, you tell them the truth."

"As true as that is..." Barry swallowed his words when he saw Cisco and Dante in a bro hug.

'Could it really be possible,' he thought to himself. 'No. Maybe. What if he is like Eobard? What if he really was working with Eobard, and this is what he meant when he said I would never be truly happy? Are Caitlin and Cisco even my friends? Are they just a part of the elaborate hoax my whole life has been planned out to be? That's it. I can't trust anyone.'

He looked around the crowd of high school friends. He loved them all, we'll most of them, with all of his heart, but to keep them safe he couldn't tell them anything. Also someone else knows who he didn't plan on letting know.

"Hey, guys," he spoke softy to his two friends. "I'm gonna bail."

"But you've only been here for like fifteen minutes," Blaine intertwined.

"But this isn't even our real reunion! This is just some lame attempt to... this is a reunion before the reunion!"

His sudden key change, luckily, did not attract the attention of the others.

"I'll be back for the real thing, but for now I've got a city to take care of," Barry gave them a half smile. They nodded their heads and smiled back at them.

"It's okay," Kurt hugged him goodbye, "we understand."

"Bye," Barry waved as he snuck out of the warehouse type of building. Just before he sped away, he waved goodbye.

"Guys," Jeff shouted. "I just saw the Flash!"

Everyone turned their heads to the boy who cried Flash. "I saw him too," Thad raised his hand. "He just ran to the left of us and there was the yellow stuff behind him!"

Jeff smacked the back side of Thad's head. "It's called lightning, dunce. And it's orange."

"I knew that," he smiled while rubbing the painful bump on his head.

In the back Cisco mumbled something about, "my ride taking off without me."

"Oh," Blaine turned to Kurt, "that reminds me, I've got some shopping to do."

"Oh," Kurt whined, "please tell me I can come!"

"I would, you know I would, but who's to say it isn't anything for you," he walked backwards to escape the pre reunion reunion. He let a shrug rise and fall from his shoulders, his hands left in separate pockets.

"Don't go too over budget," he raised a finger, but Blaine had already gone. Gone to who knows elsewhere.

"I'm so glad you two could come meet me on such short notice," Tockman spoke with short syllables.

Blaine and Puck stood side by side, staring down the man with the graying hair. Blaine had his arms crossed over his chest, whereas the other left his arms on his sides, at attention.

"I planted the tracking device on his person, if that's why you called me," Blaine tinged with annoyance.

"Why did you need the both of us? I'm the only one you need to kill him," Puck jerked his head forward.

"I-" William froze. "I actually don't know."

He took several glances around the room when he saw something no reader of this story would ever wish for him to see. Me. I held my breath, hoping he would look away, but he didn't.

"You," he shouted nastily at me. "I told you to stop following me!"

I took what little belongings I had with me with haste and barely slipped through the exit door. Thankfully the men standing in my way were still in shock from seeing me for the first time.

I dashed out of the lair as quickly ad possible, but I was unable to salvage my hideout inside of their hideout. I can no longer give you an inside look with our villains. We are just going to have to find out what they were planning the way Team Flash will.

Barry ran back into his day job. The only place where he could trust people didn't exactly exist at the time, so he decided there was no reason to not get payed during his mental breakd- I mean his distrustful phase.

Just when the elevator doors were about to close, a large, masculine, hand shoved it's knuckles into to stop them. The old doors opened back up and on stepped Joe.

When the doors closed Joe immediately began interrogating him. "Where were you? I nearly called Cisco to look for you."

'A lot of good that would've done,' Sebastian thought. "He and I were kidnapped," he simply stated.

"Oh," Joe quit. 'Of corse he was kidnapped. Why do I treat this like a day to day situation,' he asked himself. "Be on your best behavior today. In case you've forgot, the military is sending a few men down here to learn how to handle metahumans."

"Makes sense," Barry shrugged. He acted nonchalantly, but in reality he was screwed. He knew someone who joined the military years ago, and this sort of thing would've been right up his alley.

The elevator doors opened up again and Barry meandered across the floor. He fixed is eyes on the soldiers scattered about. He stumbled at the sudden appearance of Captain Singh.

"Watch where you're going, Allen," he placed his hand on Barry's chest to keep him from running him over. "We have men from the army here to go over meta data with a few of our men. Sargent Clarington, Barry Allen. Barry Allen Sergeant Clarington. He will be working with you for a while. Just show him whatever science stuff you do when you figure out if it's a meta perp."

The captain gestured to a dirty blonde man in uniform. Barry's heart stopped. He held out his hand and Sergeant Clarington shook it with a nod.

"Mr. Allen," he greeted.

Barry squinted at him. Was he really the same person he knew in high school?

"Why don't you show him the crime lab," Singh suggested.

"Y- yeah," Barry turned himself around. "Right this way."

The slightly shorter man followed Barry upstairs and observed as he swiped his card along the scanner. He gripped the handle and slid the door to the gorgeous lab open.

"Sorry, I don't normally have the door closed, so I guess I can-"

"I know it's you Sebastian," Sergeant Clarington cut him off.

"Hunt... er," Barry finished the name with great effort. "How did you- why didn't you say anything sooner?"

"Because I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. Especially not in front of your boss. I may have been a jerked before, but I know what a man's job means to him."

"That," he paused to think about how he felt as about it. "That means a lot coming from you, Hunter."

"I also want to apologize for the stupid things I did back then," he added. "They were part of the reason why I joined the military. For that am sorry, Barry."

"I forgive you," Barry smiled. He then chuckled. "Why did I ever let you know my real name?"

"Because you gave me the trust I didn't earn or deserve," he smiled but in a more serious tone. "That's your problem, Barr, you trust too easily."

"So I've been told."

Cisco walked into S.T.A.R. Labs, kicking the air in anguish. He muttered words to himself that he would only say to himself and walked through the cortex entrance.

"Cisco," Caitlin greeted, "where were you? Followup question, where was Barry?"

"He and I were both kidnapped by his old high school chums."

"Hmm," she stuck out her bottom lip and sung the noise at a high pitch. "Sounds exciting. Did you ever get that voice enhancer thing back from him?"

Instead of correcting her he just sighed a no.

He looked at the dress she was wearing, but chose to ignore her obvious state of beauty.

"That's too bad, because I thought we could go to a bar and take turns using it to freak out all the drunk people."

"Remind me to hang with you more often," Cisco nodded his head in complete agreement.


	13. Lobsters

Barry sat on the armrest of Kara's couch, while she sat on the cushion of the other side. Together they were on their phones. The silence was deafening, but nether minded it when the other was in the studio apartment with them.

Kara shut her phone off and took Barry's from his hands. "Hey," he pouted.

"I'm sorry, but I want do do something fun with my boyfriend," she argued.

When he thought about it, it really was a good argument. What was the point of being together if they didn't pay attention to each other. "Alright," he peaked the mountain of curiosity, "what'd you have in mind?"

"Uhh," her voice fell low.

"Can I use my phone to look up date ideas?"

"No," she booped his nose.

"I can take it from your hands in less than a second," he wiped off her boop. "Asking you was just a courtesy."

"Don't get sassy with me," she commanded. "I can go nearly as fast as you and I'm stronger than you."

"Your point is?"

"If you flinch to getting close to me, I have my grip on your-" she lifted her empty hand. "Hey, where'd it go?"

"You mean this," Barry asked, a cheeky grin blossomed across his face. "I got it like two minutes ago, speedster time."

"Not cool," she crossed her arms.

"Let's see here," he scrolled his phone. "Everyone loves long walks on the beach."

"No. The seagulls are annoying. I used to like them, but then they kept stealing my French fries."

"Accurate description of seagulls," Barry admitted. "Mountain hiking?"

"Veto."

"Stargazing?"

"Veto."

"I thought you'd love that one, you're into all of those cliche romantic things," he looked hurt.

"I spent decades in space, why would I want to go stargazing?"

"I guess you have a point by that," he inched closer to her, taking her hand "Go to an aquarium? Who does th-"

"Wait, isn't an aquarium that place with all the fish?"

"Yes... you're not seriously considering this, are you," he tucked his chin into his neck.

"Yes," her voice gushed to say that one word, in a way that Barry had only heard from her discussing how "potato chips are the dried babootch of Earth," whatever babootch is. "I love looking at fish! They're all so pretty and- I sound like an idiot, don't I?"

Barry noticed his attentiveness. "No. You just look really cute when you're talking about something you love," he looked down to hide his smile.

Kara reached under his head and lifted it by the chin, "I hope you realize that's what I look like when I talk about you."

"I think you have something on your lips," he leaned in and kissed her. "Nevermind, it was just me."

"You're so cheesy."

"That'll be thirteen dollars and fifty eight cents," iris told the coffee addict. He handed her fifteen dollars and she made change.

"Here," he handed her the leftover cash, "why don't you buy yourself something nice."

"Thank you," she nodded her head gratefully.

"And maybe you can wear it on our date tomorrow," he took his drinks from the counter.

"I'm sorry," she looked in disgust at the man who seemed to be hitting on her.

"Oh, man I was thinking maybe we could go out for a drink sometime," he placed his hand on the one she had resting on the counter.

"I," she gently pulled her hand away, "I have a boyfriend."

"And I have a girlfriend," he lucked his lips, "but they don't have to know."

"Look, my break starts in five minutes, so either you run in fear of my cop boyfriend possibly making an appearance or meet me behind the building then."

"I like your style," he smirked, taking his last drink.

"So are you," she asked, straightening her apron.

"I guess you'll just have to find out." The man walked out of the building with three cups of coffee in his hands and an evil grin on his face.

iris had the same one.

Kara loved Barry. This is a well known fact. Many people have a person, place, or even pet that they love. But love and trust are two very different things.

Kara exemplified love to Barry by fighting other metahumans with him and listening to his science stories. Neither of the two does she truly enjoy without Barry being involved.

But Kara exemplified trust with Barry by putting on a blindfold and letting him walk her through his city. He told her to put on the blindfold and she did. No questions asked.

She thought about using her x-ray vision, but where's the fun in that?

As the hot sun rays of Central City beat down on them both, they found a place that covered their heads with shade. Kara took a deep breath in and could smell salt and... fish?

"Are we where I think we are," she asked Barry.

"What do you think," he smiled and untied the blindfold from her eyes.

She squealed. He got a hug. A bone crushing, yet warm hug. "Do you know how much I love you," she asked.

"How much," he giggled.

"To Krypton and back!"

"Just get inside," he groaned.

She got pushed through the front doors and a wonderous blue light shined over her face. She took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of both fresh and saltwater.

Barry observed her open her dazzling eyes, shimmering with passion. She was pursing her smile and darting her eyes all around the aquarium. Seeing her happy made him happy. She quickly rushed to see the sea turtles.

Barry knew today would be special.

iris had a guilty smile. She didn't think of herself as a cheater, but she got bored. She did that quite often. Eddie was her most serious relationship, but before him was Theodore.

Theo was okay. He was handsome and so kind to her. They had an on again off again relationship all throughout high school. The only problem was that they were never exclusive, meaning they could see other people. Which he did. Multiple times.

It was a nightmare. But she loved him. She missed the way he would stroke her hair, and the sweet kisses he would place on every spot on her head when her dad looked away. So every time they broke up, they wanted each other, but every time they were together, they wanted somebody else.

Everyone wanted them to work out, and she was just glad Barry never found out. The last time she saw him was at their last breakup. He was leaving for college and they knew they wouldn't be able to survive the distance. But they made a promise. A promise to meet up in the exact spot in seven years. If they were with somebody special, they would tell each other. If not, they would grab some coffee and see where it went.

She wandered into the train station months before the break she was taking now, in lipstick and a gorgeous dress and sat there for hours. The longer she waited the more she lost faith in him. She checked the clock several times, but he never came. He forgot. He forgot about her.

But now none of that mattered. Now she was going to be the one to find her someone special. Maybe this guy would be spectacular.

She pulled on the string of the apron.

Maybe this guy who she talked to for two minutes was the love of her life.

She took a deep breath.

This could be her Kara.

She opened the back exit.

Was she crazy? She was dating Eddie not what's-his-name. She didn't even know his name! This was crazy.

She was about to turn around when she saw him. What's-his-name was standing there. He was stunning. He had a shaven head and a nice button down. He smiled at her with just about the whitest teeth she'd ever seen.

"So" he said in a low, masculine voice, "it's your lunch break, right? Why don't we go down to that new place just a block or do away?"

"I..," she hesitated. Was she really going to be one of those girls? On the other hand, when was the last time she and Eddie did something together? "I'd like that."

Kara had her eyes fixed on the crustaceans. Lobsters were her favorite. She read somewhere that lobsters had one mate for their whole life, and even when they grow old, you can still see them holding claws at the bottom of the tank.

She spent a long time just trying to find a pair claw in claw, that when she found one she became self aware of holding Barry's.

"Hey look," he said, "they're holding hands."

"And they call you the smart one," she teased.

"Well I certainly hope I am," he chuckled, "because if not I'm going to feel really stupid about this."

Barry got down on one knee.

"Kara," he choked, "we've only been going out for a few months now, but I've known you for years. I hate being away from you, and every time you go to National City a small piece of me goes with you. I used to have schoolboy crushes on girls when I was younger but being with you... I've never felt this- this kind of candle flickering in my heart before. Just the chance to look into your eyes makes my year. There is nobody I'd rather be with than you." He pulled a diamond engagement ring out of his pocket. "I want- I need to be with you for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?"

Kara was frozen. A small tear dripped down her face, causing her to take a deep breath. "Barry, I..," she cried, "I love you. I love you so, so much... and that's why I have to say no."

Barry's smile faded from his lips. He tried to say something, but he had no voice. He stood up as Kara pushed her way through the small crowd they had gathered with this grand gesture.

"You're really funny, you know that," iris laughed.

"It was somebody else's mind, okay," he smiled. "This is not a joke!"

"Stop it," she giggled. She impaled a bit of her salad onto her fork. She had made sure to get a piece of carrot with it. Carrots were her favorite. "Why didn't you order any food?"

"I'm not that hungry. Now then she tells me that I'm this kid who I have always hated, and the icing on the cake is he's gay, right? So then I'm him and now my best friend is now his boyfriend and I'm the one who's kissing my best friend.

"Oh! No! No! Stop it," she chortled and choked. She stopped laughing the moment she realized she was really choking. She couldn't breath. She put her hands around her throat to signal she was choking, but he hardly looked concerned.

She moved her whole body flailing to find someone who could help. They were in the empty corner of the restaurant where not even the kitchen would be able to see them.

"I'm sorry it had to be this way," he said as she fell to the floor, gasping for air.

Her efforts were all in vain. Her gasps became farther apart and more ragged until they stopped completely. She couldn't stop the black spots from covering her view of the ceiling. But the ceiling wasn't her last sight. Her last sight was of the man who was standing over her, nearly grinning.

"Goodbye iris," he half smiled. "I'll miss you."

She lost all consciousness and could pinpoint the exact moment she had felt her heart stop beating.

"Who am I kidding," he beamed, "no I won't."

iris death brought to you by BooksForBidoof **on Wattpad.** Thank you!


	14. SupplyCloset

Barry had moved out of the West home. He couldn't look his family in the eye and tell them the woman he asked to marry told him no. He found an apartment in northeast Central City. He knew he was unable to work with his friends on missions, but he wasn't about to let that stop him from helping the city.

He called Kara at least five times a day to be greeted by her friendly answering machine. "Hey Kara," he called without tone. "It's me again. I just- I miss hearing your voice, your laugh. Whatever it is that I did, I'm sorry. Were we moving too quickly? I need you to tell me, or I won't be able to change. Please, Kara. I'm going to be at the reunion tomorrow. Call me back."

He sighed. If she didn't start talking to him soon he knew he'd crack. If calling her wasn't doing the trick, then he would find a way to meet her.

-

Kara was sitting on her couch with a bag of potato chips, surrounded by old take out boxes of pot stickers. She took a few personal days at work and couldn't help but want to take a few more. She was always thinking about Barry and how she said no to his proposal no matter how many episodes of Friends she watched.

She felt like Rachel leaving her Barry at the altar, except Kara had good reason. It wasn't that she just stopped loving him, it was because she couldn't love him.

She loved him and wanted to be with him for the rest of her life, but how? Would she move to CC or he move to NC? Even if they moved to the other's city, what would happen to their own? Would they take care of the big stuff and weekends? It just wasn't possible.

But she got too close. Too attached. Every time she saw him it was like she fell in love with him all over again. Breaking up with him was the hardest thing she had ever done, and she hoped to never have to do it again.

Every once in a while, she'd turn the news on and see a report on the Flash saving the day, and not five minutes later did she get a new voice mail from him. It physically hurt her to listen to them, but she had to. If she didn't she knew she'd regret it and just listen to it later.

"Knocketty knock knock," Alex opened her apartment door. She stepped over the trash and onto her sister's couch, swiftly wrapping her arms around her. "Are you doing any better?"

"No," Kara frowned. "Yes? I don't know."

"That's okay," Alex rubbed her shoulder. "Are you going to your high school reunion tomorrow?"

"You're just full of questions, aren't you."

"It'd fine if you don't want to. You don't have to go."

"I know, it's just... I want to see all of my friends, but Barry..."

"I know," Alex hugged her. "It's all going to be okay. You know what, get dressed, we're going shopping.

-

Caitlin was concerned to sat the least. There had to be some way to find Barry. They didn't know where Barry was, they didn't know why he was gone, and they didn't know how he just dropped off the map like that. And Caitlin hated not knowing.

They only had a vague idea of where he was, but that was a fifty mile radius. And Cisco was busy mourning with Joe and everyone else Caitlin knew.

They say people grieve in different ways, but she tried not to grieve at all. She tried to keep her mind occupied with other things. Such as finding Barry, who seemed to be trying to mourn alone.

The more she thought about it, the more it made sense; Barry just wanted to be alone in his fragile state. It wasn't the worst thing for him to be doing, however it wasn't a very good thing for him to be going through alone.

If he truly was grieving, then any trigger could set him spiraling into depression. Although, he was still doing his job as the Flash, so what was she so worried about?

Perhaps he liked to grieve alone and distracted. Maybe there was nothing to be worried about. Maybe everything would turn out for the better.

That was a lot of maybes.

-

Kara cautiously walked into Jitters wearing a paisley colored sundress, not unlike another one she owned. The yellow one which she also enjoyed wearing, always gave her a real sense of confidence. And yet, right then, she felt very insecure. These people were her friends, right?

Nearly everyone was there, and they kept coming in

"Hey, look, it's Marley," Ryder opened his arms with the greeting.

"Hey," Kara pulled him into a side hug. "It been so long, how have you been doing?"

"Alright, but I gotta tell you I'm still kinda sore after things ended with my wife."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she gave him the head tilt. "I'm going through something similar. Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, but I'd like to hear more about your similar experience," he cocked his eyebrows.

"Oh, it's nothing. Things just didn't end amicably with my ex boyfriend."

Just then she saw Barry's head pop through the door.

"I'm sorry," she looked back at Ryder. "Can I get back to you." She kept shifting her weight to see Barry behind his head.

"Um, yeah, sure," he furrowed his eyebrows. He glanced to his right and left a few times, not understanding what she kept looking at.

She marched over to the door and took Barry by the arm. From there she fled them into a nearby supply closet.

"What do you think you're doing here," she wacked him in the back of the head. "This is my high school reunion and if they see you, you are dead. They still have a lot of beef with you."

He couldn't help but notice her sinserious tone. "I'm sorry, but when you break up with me for no reason and then dodge my calls-"

"That means we're broken up."

"No," he corrected. "That means I had to find out where your reunion would be so I could just talk to you."

Right after he said that a Jitters worker opened the door and jumped in shock. "What are you two doing in-"

"Out," they both shouted in unison.

She closed the door and backed away. Weird. Were they... no.

"Kara, I need you to tell me why you broke up with me. I already tried proposing, and we all know how that worked out," Barry gave her a weak smile.

She sighed in exasperation. "Barry..."

"No. Please talk to me. You're- you are the only person I trust." He reached for and took her hand. "I still love you."

"No, Barry, you don't get it," she pulled her hand away quickly. "I didn't break up with you because I stopped loving you. I broke up with you because I couldn't love you. I love you too, but what about our cities? What about the people we love. If we took the next step into marriage we would need to live together."

"No we wouldn't," Barry reached for her again but didn't try to make contact.

"Yes we would. How would we have kids? How would we start a life together if we're still in some long distance relationship? If we got married hundreds of thousands of lives would be at stake."

"Then we don't get married."

"Then where would our relationship be going? If one crazy meta or- or alien attacks one of our cities, who will be there to stop it?"

"We will," he cried. "We both have superspeed, if someone attacks, we'll be there."

"But at what cost? Where will we be if we're always running away, because we certainly won't be together."

She paused for a minute, waiting for Barry to interject again. But he didn't. He just stared at her with the same tearful eyes she had. He only took four steps forward to feel her incomparable lips against his. He pulled away in a sob.

"Rao, I love you," she held his face in her hands, "but being together means our happiness is the misery of everyone else. That's why we can't be together."

She turned to the door and hovered her hand over the knob.

"Kara..," he said in vain. "Please."

She could feel a single tear fall onto her foundation. "Goodbye Barry." She turned the copper doorknob and tried not to hear his pleads.

"Kara. Kara!"

Her head hung low on her neck as she touched the calligraphic letter "B" necklace through her crossed arms.

Barry's shouting caught the attention of several of the McKinley men. When he stepped out a few feet was when their attention was really caught.

"Is that Sebastian," one of them whispered.

"Yikes," another one whispered. "What'd Marley do to break him like this?"

The whisperers kept going, but it didn't bother Barry. He was already crying. He tried to put on a tough look when he was younger, but now they see him for the real him. The broken him.

The truth was he had always been broken. The small cracks on the surface, he could hide. But when he gets broken, it takes more then a lot to build him back up. That's why he hides his feelings. Because when he's broken, he can't just stand up on his two feet, he needs his friends and family.

He relies on people too much. He relied on Kara too much. Kara wasn't people to him; she was the love of his life, and he would get her back, just not now.

-

"Barry," Caitlin shook her head. "Where on earth did you go?"

She felt a gust of wind make her hair blow into her face. She didn't even have to move it from her eyes to know what happened.

She ran over to him and wrapped her arms as tightly as she could around his chest. Her head lay over his heart instinctively and she listened to his heartbeat, counting.

"Barry," she didn't move a muscle, "why did you leave?" Caitlin knew the answer.

"Because," he squeezed her back, "I proposed to Kara."

"Really," she smiled and pulled away, forgetting about her strife.

"And she said no."

Her face immediately fell. "Oh my word, Barry I'm... I'm so sorry." She wrapped her fingers around his shoulder, letting her hand fall down his arm. She didn't know the answer.

"I just- I miss her so much, Caitlin," he sobbed. "She- she told me we couldn't be together. Because we would have to abandon our cities."

Caitlin understood where Kara was coming from, but she couldn't help but feel almost sorry for Barry.

"Do you want to know what the worst part is," his shook his head. She didn't want to know. "I still love her."

"Oh, Barry," she pulled him into another hug. "Oh, Barry."

Didn't have any words left that would make him feel any better. In fact, she was angry. She trusted Kara. He trusted Kara. They all trusted and liked Kara. And she betrayed him. If she didn't want them to go farther in their relationship, then where did she think they were heading? It was infuriating. If only she could give her a piece of her mind.

"I can't believe all of this is happening to you. I mean, first with iris and now Kara," she sighed.

"Wait," he paused and pushed away, "what about iris?"

"Oh. Oh no," Caitlin's eyes grew. She put a hand against her mouth. She couldn't tell him. Why did she have to be put in this position. "iris... oh... no. I can't. No I can't. I can't, I can't."

"You can't what," his hand began trembling. "Caitlin, what happened with iris," he asked again, more seriously.

"I can't tell you that iris... passed away."


End file.
